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GENERAL PHILIP REED 



-ANI>- 



CAULK^S FIELD. 



CEREMONIES ATTENDING THE UNVEILING 



-OF'.A^ 



BATTLE-MARKER 



ON CAULK'S FIELD, 



AND A SLAB 




-AT- 



GENERAL REED'S GRAVE. 



/ 




GENERAL PHILIP REED, OF KENT, 
Warrior and Statesman. 



General Philip Reed and Caulk's Field 



o » ' 



MEMORIAL. 



REPORT OF THE REMARKS 



-OF- 



REV. CHRISTOPHER T. DENROCHE 



-AND- 



CAPTAIN COLUMBMS A. LEARY ; 



Also the Historical Address on that occasion of 
HON. WILLIAM M^ MARINE, 



AND THE 

REMARKS OF A K. HADEL, M. I).. 

AT THE 

Ceremonies A ttending the Unmiling of a Stone to 
Marie the CauW s Field Battle Ground, in Kent 
County, Ilaryland, held on the Field, Saturday. 
October 18, 1902. 



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INTRODUCTORY. 



The slaf. over the grave of General Philip Reed, 
being placed in position by the Ganlt lirm of Balti- 
more, and the granite stone by the Lackenmayer 
marble establishment of that city, on the Can Ik farm 
battle field, the 18th of October, 1902, was set apart 
by the committee of arrangements, for the ceremonial 
services, to take place at 1.30 o'clock p. m. 

President W. C. Eliason of the Tolchester Steam- 
boat Company, facilitated the transjjortation of gnests 
from the city of Baltimore. A threatening morning 
prevented a laiger attendance than arrived. Eighteen 
persons, however, were present, mostly from the 
patriotic societies of the American Revolntion and 
the Society of the AVar of 1812. From that society 
were Hon. A. Leo Knott and Dr. A. K. Hadel. Mr. 
Charles Steiff, of Baltimore, and Henry B. Leary, of 
Washington, were representatives of the commei-cial 
interests ; Miss Alice L. Crane, a great-grand-niece of 
General Philip Reed, and Mrs. Thomas Hill, President 
of Baltimore Chai)ter Danghters of the Americnn 
Revolntion. 

The neighbors responded generonsly with tlieir 
carriages, so that there was no lack of transi)ortati<)n 






2:Ja'03 






GENERAL PHILIP REED. 3 

from Tolcliester to the battle ground. When the 
steamer Kitty Knight (an appropriate name) arrived, 
tlie guests were met by the Rev. Mr. Denroche, C. C. 
Hopper and W. M. Marine, of the eomniittee, accom- 
panied by Mr. Thomas Hill, who looked after secur- 
ing and handing over to tlie neighbors tlie guests for 
conveyance to the battle ground. They were taken 
to the old Caulk House, on the farm on which the 
battle was fought, where they were received by Mr. 
and Mrs. Thomas Hill. Under the supervision of Mrs. 
Hill, a luncheon was immediately served, and hot 
coffee, oysters, ham, bi'ead and other palatable dishes 
were enjoyed. By a few minutes of 2 o'clock the stand 
was reached bv the guests. It had been constructed 
hy Captain Leary, who had also erected two flag poles. 
Around the stand an<l battle field marker, a large 
nund:)er of carriages containing the best people of the 
county were assembled, ranged in senii-circnlar form. 
Carriages were also in the roadway, and a larii'e num- 
l^er of x^fi"s<^iis were standing. On the stand were 
seated Parson Denroche, Hon. A. L. Knott, Dr. A. K. 
Hadel, W. M. Marine, Miss Alice L. Crane, Mrs. 
Thomas PHll, Mrs. Denroche and Capt. C. A. Lear3^ 

The speaker's stand was draped with a handsome 
American flag loaned by the Chestertown Transcript. 

The following persons furnished the musical 
talent from Chestertown, under the direction of Prof. 
W. W. Chapman, — the Misses Hallie and Mabel Toul 



4 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

son, Sue Lambert, Laura II. A. Tlioiuas, Mettle Loudy 
Addie Hurlock, Eva Iluilock and Sophia Beck ; Tlios. 
W. Perkins, Dr. H. L. Dodd, E. F. Hitcb, C. H. 
Hurlock, James P. Parrott, (J. Bacon Lamb and T. H- 
M. Bramble. The singing of the national airs was 
led by Messrs. John Cannan, Foster Cannan, Benja- 
min Greenwood and Roland Matthews with horns. 
The choir discoursed several airs during the progress 
of the exercises, which were enjoyed. 

At a given signal during Parson Denroche's ad- 
dress, Miss Alice L. Crane and Miss Katharine Baird 
Hojjper, daughter of Mr. C. C. Hopper, one of the 
committee, unveiled the stone and gave its glare to the 
light of the beholders. The Stars and Stripes, under 
direction of Captain Leary, were hrst hoisted on a X)ole 
and fluttered in the wind, followed by the flag of Eng- 
land^ the two flags floating gloriously side by side on 
each side of the marker. Apjilause greeted the sight. 

The flags were raised bj'- Master Walter H. Hada- 
way, son of Mr. Walter Hadaway, a great-grand-son 
of General Michael Miller, who served under General 
Reed ; and Clifton Downey, son of James Downey,, 
a great-grand-son of James Downey, who accom- 
panied Judge Ezekiel F. Chambers to the bayshoreon 
the morning after the battle to exchange prisoners. 

Those who furnished teams were : Messrs. Hop- 
kins Burgess, R. Sterling Jones, James L. Beck,. 
George Bell, John P. Nicholson and A. A. Reinhart. 



SPeecH 

BY 

REV. CHRIS, T. DENROCHE, 



Rev. Mr. Benrcu'he ]\m\ been selected bytlieoom- 
Tiiittee the ]n'esiding officer, and at once took cliarge 
of the meeting, delivering the following address: 

My Deak and Respected Fellow Citizens : 

It is with pi'ond gratification that I exercise the 
honorable privilege of addressing you on this very 
important occasion. 

Before entering upon the special topic which is 
my alotted duty — and trusting you will appreciate this 
as a heart-felt utterance — I desire to pay a slight trib- 
ute of praise to General Philip Reed's memory. 

General Philip Reed was an able statesman, a 
brave soldier, and a worthy citizen : but, in addition 
to, and above, all these, he was, in tlie choicest accep- 
tation of the word, a man. He was a man who was 
held in tlie highest respect, and in the greatest esteem 
bv all wdio knew him. He was a man who won the 
hearts of his neighbors by sterling honesty, high 
principle, and love towards every one. 

Listen to proofs of my assertion : 

1st, as to his "honesty and high principle." — 
With all the opportunities which his career laid open 
to him for accumulating uionev, he died poor: — 



() (iENEKAI. I'lIlLlP REF.D. 

2iid, as to liis iiaviiig " won the hearts of his 
iieiij,hbors." — In his i)overty it came to pass tiiat his 
property had to be i)nt up i'or sale, by law; the 
authorities were sent to enforce the sale; three sev- 
eral times, the sheriff came on his grounds to auction 
off his estate, and on these three several times the 
sheriff" failed to niake the sale. Upon being interro- 
gated as to why the sale could not be effected, the 
sheriff's answer was substantially this : "The people 
love General Reed, and not one man of them can be 
found who will make a bid on his pr(jperty as long as 
he lives." It Avas thus, because the people loved 
him that General Reed was enabled to keephis grand 
old head under a shelter, practically his own, until he 
died. There was a true man for you — a man the j^eo- 
ple loved. 

AVe are devoutly glad to honor the memory of 
this man who was so much loved ; — this good man 
whose honesty and high character is now and ever, a 
matter to be handed down, with praise, to future gen- 
erations as a marked example. This is my humble 
tril)ute to his real worth. God bless him. 

But to enter now upon ray definitely appointed 
sul)ject. We have met together to unveil a "Battle- 
marker"' which has been erected for the purpose of 
perpetuating, by an inscription engraved on stone, the 
history of an important event which took place eighty- 
eight years ago, in this county of Kent, Maryland. "^ 

In its degree, among other causes, this event 
secured the hopeful probability that no future inva- 
sion of the United States of America would be under- 
taken by the British government. It had this effect 
also, that our " Declaration of Independence" which 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 7 

had been prom iil,<i-a ted in 1776, was, in 1814, materi- 
ally strengthened, and became more fnlly established, 
because it thus rested on the substantial foundation 
of strongly hopeful peace between the two nations, 
which peace would, in all probability, l)e of lasting 
■endui'ance. 

We have met for yet another purpose, which is 
to testify, with sincere and proud appreciation, to the 
o-lorious and <;-raud achievement of General Philip 
Reed and his gallant soldiers, who, at the risk of their 
lives, and by indcmiitable courage, obtained a decisive 
victory in an engagement which they fought on the 
very locality upon which this ^'Battle-marker'' is 
here planted. 

In connection with this Battle of Caulk's Field, 
now under discussion, I venture to express the opinion 
that it is oui' l)uunden duty to acknowledge the coura- 
geous conduct, and manifest loyalty to their country 
of those who at that time were our enensies ; and to 
record our sad lemembrances of their grievous losses. 

The object of this meeting is not for the purpose 
of giving vent in the slightest degree to exultation 
over a foi-mer enemy, with whom now we live on terms 
of affection ami respect. Its purpose is, simply, to 
secure for posteiity the knowledge of an imporfant 
occurrence in oui- country's history. 

A prominent feature of this occasion should l)e a 
devout thanksgiving to Almighty God for the many 
years of i)eace which have existed between the United 
States of America and Britain ; and which have 
been the hai)i)y consummation of former frateinal 
wars, so fraught with black devastation and cruel 
])loodshed. 



c^ GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

Let us pray tlitit miituiil ties of affection and 
interests and blood may ensure, that true harmony 
and holy peace shall ever prevail between America 
and England "'as long as grass grows or watt^i- I'uns.'" 



I 'proceed now to gim a few words as to the or Uj hi 
of the present movement. 

It is w^ell know^u that a desire to honor the mem- 
ory of General Philip Reed has been aw^eight on the 
minds and hearts of some of our worthy citizens for 
many a year, but, that, owing to delicate and apx^a- 
rently insurmountable considerations, they w^ere una- 
ble to bring their loving wishes to any substantial 
demonstration. 

Within the last few years circumstances seemed 
to justify practical action, and to admit of the carry- 
ing out of the previously hampered and loving wishes 
of those worthy citizens. 

In consequence of this, the present movement was 
naturally given birth to. It came about and lias been 
comi)leted, briefly, as now narrated : 

In 1892 it was my privilege to be elected I'ector of 
St. Paul's and I. IT. parishes, Kent county, Md. In 
I. U. parish the story of General Philip Reed soon 
came to my ears, with the information that his remains 
had laid in the burial ground there for seventy-five 
years in an nnmarked grave. At this time, as none 
of the former difficulties opposed themselves, I con- 
sulted the leading members of the parish as to the 
propriety of having a stone placed over the General's 
giave. The idea received unqualified approval. The 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 9 

matter was then brought before business men gener- 
ally. Mr. Charles. Cox Hopper, of Chestertown ; Capt, 
C. A. Learv, of Edesviile, and Col. Wm. M. Marine, 
of Baltimore, were the first men who rendered me the 
substantial advice which has culminated in this pres- 
ent meeting. Many otheis seconded their valuable 
ideas. Subsequently an informal meeting was called 
at the Chestertown " TrauscriT)t " newspaper office. 
It was then resolved tliat the matter should be actively 
taken in liand. It was also forcibly snggested that 
while the placing of a stone at the General's grave 
must be our first object, w^e might nuike it the occa- 
sion to add a second object, nameh% to erect a 
" Marker'' at Caulk's Field, on the site of the battle 
which General Reed and his heroic men fought and 
won for our country. This was unanimously agreed 
to. To consult on these two objects, Capt. Columbus 
A. Leary, Mr. Charles C. Hopper and the Rey. Chris. 
T. Denroche were instructed to meet at the office of 
Colonel Wm. M. Marine, in Baltimore, with such gen- 
tlemen of that city as might be interested in the move- 
ment. 

At this meeting in Baltimore,' The General 
Philip Reeh Memorial Society was formally 
ORGANIZED, and the following were appointed officers : 
President, the Rev. C. T. Denroche, of Fairlee, Md.; 
Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. Charles C. Hopper, of 
Chestertown, Md.; Executive Committee, Colonel Wm". 
M. Marine, Wm. H. Gill, a member of the Sons of the 
Revolution, James E. Carr, Jr., president of the So- 
ciety of the War of 1812, and Mr. Thomas Hill, :i]l of 
Baltimore ; also CaptJiin Columbus A. Leary. of Edes- 
viile, Kent county, Md. 



|(, GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

At another meeting C{ix>f^^- C A. Leary, Col. Wm. 
M. Marine, Col. Win. J. Yannort, C. C. Hopjjer and 
the Rev. C. T. Denroche were made a special commit- 
tee on the "Battle-marker" monnment for Caulk's 
Field, Captain Leary to be chairman of that commit- 
tee. Other gentlemen were placed upon the general 
committee as follows : Messrs. Ed. T. Tnbbs, of Den- 
ton, Md.; Fred. G. Usilton, L. B. Russell, the Revs. 
D. L. Greentield, E. P. Roberts, James L. McSweeney, 
Dr. Henry B. Martin, all of Chestertown, Md.>, and the 
vestrymen of I. U. paiish. 

To all of these thanks are due for the parts they 
took in this happily conceived and humbly carried 
out loyal and patriotic movement. 

Previous to this, five hundred pamphlets, written 
by myself, giving a history of General Philip Reed's 
life and accomplishments, had been mailed to every- 
one who could be supposed interested, with a view of 
obtaining subscriptions. 

Various contributions were made, among which 
were fifty dollars from the Baltimore Chapter of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, a society 
widely known for liberality and staunch loyalty. 
Colonel Wm. M. Marine, an ardent lover of the per- 
petuation of his country's history, handed in a large 
amount collected by himself, and also a sum from the 
Society of the War of 1812. It is to his hearty interest, 
patriotic zeal and untiring energy that Kent county 
owes, m a large measure, the honor of having this 
stone memorial of the Battle of Caulk's Field erected. 
Through Captain Columbus A. Leary, whose loving 
interest and unllagging work in the cause has been 
second to none, each and every patriotic society in 



GENERAL PHILIP REED, 1] 

Rock Hall, Kent county, Md., contributed with large, 
cheerful and loyal generosity. The gifts of all the 
other subscribers were made, as were those previously 
mentioned, with a commendable liberality. Tlie Sons 
of the American Society of the Revolution kindly 
remembered us : and Mr, John M. Dulaney, president 
of the Society of the Descendants of the War of 1812, 
is entitled to our acknowdedgements for his able inter- 
est in behalf of the movement. All these have our 
heartfelt thanks. 

I desire' to render sincere thanks in yet another 
quarter, namely, to our good and faithful secretary, 
Mr. Charles C. Hopper, for the wise counsels and able 
nmnner with which he has forwarded this movement 
from first to last ; his office and time and labor have 
always been at our disposal, with glad alacrity. 

To the " Kent News" and to the ''Transcript," 
of Chestertown, and to the Baltimore newspapers, we 
are under manifest obligations. 

In this way we have been able to erect a practi- 
cally indestructible, though modest Battle-marker, 
on this, the very lield of tlie intrepid and loyal and 
imperishable exploit of General Philip Reed and his 
brave followers in gaining a victory at once eminently 
creditable to themselves, and vastly important to the 
welfare of our glorious and much-loved country. 

With tliankful gratitude for yf>ur kind attention, 
I respectfully close my remarks with tlie uttei'ance of 
a very widely-expressed sentiment, which holds that 
YOU are as patriotic and loyal a generation of the citi- 
zens of the United States of America, now^ as dear 
old General Philip Reed and his compatriots \\>^r.e 

IN TIlEIPv DAY AND GENERATION. 



12 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

May God bless you, yonr families and your 
homes, and our happily independent country. 

CHRIS. T. DENROCHE. 



ADDRESS BY CAPT. COLUMBUS A. LEARY. 



Captain Columbus A. Leary, of Kent county, 
beinii; introduced by President Denroche, spoke as 
follows : 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — I must first comfort 
you with the assurance that you will not be called 
upon to endure what I maj^ inflict upon you for but a 
few minutes, as at the end of tlint time I must make 
room for something more interesting and more in- 
structive, indeed, it is circumstances and not my own 
presumption which bring me before you at all. 

The sub-committee a])pointed to procure, inscribe 
and erect a monument or slab at the grave of General 
Reed and a "Marker" on this field, have to explain 
that they have given much more attention to stability 
and durability than to ornamentation. 

In reference to the inscription on the slab (for 
such it really is) at General Reed's grave, they have 
simply briefly recited his public services, the ability 
Avith which they were executed and the good fortune 
to his feHow-countrvmen Avhich attended them, and 
concluded tliat tliev couhl not easily invent a much 



GENERAL I'HIIJP REED, 13 

higher C()ni])liment. Tii reference to the inscription 
on the Marker on tlii.s field the committee deliberately 
determined to free it fi-om clumsiness and to leave it 
abounding in charitj^ This sentiment was suggested 
by the recollection that our ancestors abundantly 
proved themselves worthy of the valoi'of a manly aiid 
chivalrous people in time of war, and this laid upon 
us the more agreeable but no less binding duty of 
showing by our magnanimit}^ that we were worthy the 
friendship of that same x^eople in time of peace. But 
oiir action in tliis regard was principally inspired by 
obedience to a law which governed man long before 
he had learned to temper the steel, weave the cloth, or 
to write the parchment, and is as potent to-day as it 
was when the Pyramids first cast their shadows across 
the blue Nile, or when Jacob was a young lierdsman 
guarding the Hocks of Laban on the hills of Padanaram. 
It provides no penalty for its violation, for man with all 
his cai)acity for mischief has never been able to vio- 
late it, and but for it human laws could not govern, 
human schools could not enlighten, and hnman 
chnrches could not reform — and it is decided in the 
sim])le sentence that man is an outgrowth of condi- 
tions, — a miri'or reflecting hisenviionment, and when 
we judge by this and measure by the standard which 
it provides, the men and boys who confronted each 
other on this field eighty-eight years ago, we find that 
the Americans were chiefly, indeed, almost altogether 
sons of Revolutionary soldiers who had heard much 
of the follies and vices of men who ruled by hereditary 
and sometimes claimed to rule by divine right. Who 
was tliere to tell them that society had suffered nearly, 
or quite as many ills, from the schemes and machi- 



14 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 



uatioii« of irresponsible deniogogues as it eyei- had by 
the vices and follies of kings 't And on the other hand, 
tlie Britons, all of whom, despite their discipline and 
their valo!', snifered a humiliating defeat, and some of 
whom fonnd a premature grave in a strange and hos- 
tile land ; who were they before they became familiar 
with and capable of understanding the shi-ill whistle of 
the boatswain as it rose above the liowling of the wind, 
the splashing of the water and the fluttering of canvas, 
in ordering them to the discharge of those nautical evo- 
lutions which had been handed down from the time of 
Blake, and others not less renowned upon the seas? 
They were sons of flshermen whose cabins stood on the 
bleak shores of Yarmouth and who had been from their 
cradle taught that their highest virtue and flrst duty 
were loyalty to their king and country, and that the 
best theatre for its display was the deck of one of their 
majesty's ships, where they were expected to disregard 
the shcx^k and roar of the guns, the stifling and blind- 
ing smoke, or the ghastlj^ scenes which might sur- 
round them, in oi'der that tliey might distinctly hear 
and mechanically obey the hoarse voice of the trumpet 
in the hands of their commanding officer. And there 
were among them the sons of farmers whose homes 
stood on the banks of the Midway, surrounded by the 
hop fleldsof Kent and overshadowed by the venerable 
towers of Canterbury. If those boys regularly attended, 
or only occasionally wandered into that central shrine 
of their country, they heard pronounced from an altar 
revered as the shrine of the martyred Becket, prayers 
and invocations whi(di proved beyond all i)eradven- 
ture to their untrained and unphilosopliic minds that 
fj^e f.iipi,,ips of rliPir kinu' were the enemies of their 



GENERA!, PHILIP REED, lo 

God ; wljeii, p^n-Laps, if the same sounds luid fallen 
ii])on the ears of a truly wise philosopher he would 
have sincerely thanked heaven for the })rayers it did 
iiot answer. We have not the time to be circumstan- 
tial or elaborate, and even if we had it would be nn- 
necessary to l)e so to such an audience as this, for there 
are many among you more cax)able of reasoning from 
cause to effect than I, and more capable of stating 
their conclusions more forcibly and elegantly than I 
can ever hope to be. To yon, then, it is quite sufficient 
to say, reverse these conditions in theii" relation to the 
persons influenced by them and you will reverse your 
animosities and your friendships. 

In the second decade of the third century Tertu- 
lian in one of his apologies to Caracala and Getta 
declared that the gospel of jieace had been preached 
over the whole earth; that it liad been heard by the 
inhabitants of walled cities ; the Arab squatting 
beneath his tent and the Cythean wandering in rude 
and ponderous wagons. We believe this is the lan- 
ii'uao-e of declamation and rhetoric. We know it is 
not the language of history, but every scholar knows 
it was pronounced under very grave conditions ; that 
it was presented to two men who w^ere at that time 
styled the masters of the world, and the author knew 
it would be subjected to the critical examination of 
that assendilage of Catos know^n as the Roman Senate. 
Besides this, the author was canonized centuries ago 
and they hardly canonized him for his mistakes. 

We think then, that it does not belong to that 
class of history which is a graijhic and detailed 
account of things which never happened, V)ut that it 
constitutes a part of that valuable fund of informa- 



16 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

tion which informs lis of what has been happening in 
this ohl world, only that like other valuable history 
it is much exaggerated, and in this conclusion we are 
in harmony with men much wiser and vastly more 
learned than I, for they have religiously x)reserved it 
in the archives of the Vatican, where it can be seen 
to-day. Since then a succession of babies have be- 
come grand-mothers and been laid to rest ; acorns 
have grown to giant oaks and they have decayed — yes, 
and a hundred constructions and interpretations of 
this sublime philosophy or beneficent revelation have 
sprung into existence with niillions of adherents. 

What the conditions of society would have been 
if they had all been as ready to accept the duties it 
imposed as they were eager to grasp the benefits which 
it promised, I do not know, but we do know that man 
has not yet learned to treat his enemy as though he 
would some day become his friend ; or that the noblest 
revenge is not to imitate the wrong doer; that war 
continues to be a very fashionable and a very p()i)ular 
amusement. It has been dignified and elevated into 
a science— but degraded into a trade. The soldier of 
fortune continues a very conspicuous institution in 
the economy of nations ; an ornament and an author- 
ity in j)olite society. He spends his youth in acquir- 
ing an education and in exercises which make him 
dexterous and efiicient in the performance of his Hade; 
th(- \igor of his young and mature manhood in serv- 
ing his master and earning his wages; his dec^lin- 
ing years in deploring the ingratitude of nations and 
the inadequacy of his pension. The war de])ts of the 
most highly enlightened nations have swelled into a 
ponderous maze of figures appalling even to the skilled 



GENERAL PHILIP KEED, 17 

;ind experienced acconiitant. The pension rolls of 
christian nations are nearly as seandalons in the 
frands which they accidentally expose as they are 
o-hastlv in the bereavements and deformities which 
they labor to explain. 

These are disconraging facts, bnt we have some 
evidences that man can learn thongh he learns slowly, 
for we no longer see the learned, robed and wigged 
jndge endeavoring to reclaim schismatics and heretics 
by every means but the right one, and that right one 
the easiest and the cheapest — let them alone ; and the 
allegorist no longer represents the same respectable 
functionary, as a Cyclops armed with a thirty-pound 
sledge making heroic efforts to demolish a shadow 
because he was expending his vitality in the endeavor 
to exterminate witches which never existed. 

These evidences that man can learn inspires us 
with the hope that while mothers yet teach their chil- 
dren the noble language which was spoken by Shake- 
speare and Milton, by Gibbon and Gladstone, and all 
of our own great statesmen, orators and poets; that 
these children may yet read unaided by the arts of the 
university, and in their mother-tongue, what we have 
inscribed upon that stone. 

Earth will have produced children who will heed 
as heaven has long since done, heralds to proclaim 
^' i^eace on earth, good will to men." 

I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the patience 
with which you have heard an expression of our eccen- 
tricities. 

COLUMBUS A. LEARY. 



j(^, GENERAL PHILIP REED. 



Tlieii took place the unveiling projyer, after the 
folloiDing remarks hy Rev. Mr. Deiiroche : 

Ladies and Gentlemen: — There stands your 
memorial Battle-marker covered with " Ohl Gh)ry/' — 
our symbolical Flao- of Victory. 

It is erected on the yery site of an eni^agement in 
which General Philip Reed and his gallant men cov- 
ered themselves with substantial glory and victory, by 
crushing the enemy who fought against ns, on this 
memorable old Caulk's Field, eighty-eight years ago. 

Our intention today is to j^erpetuate the history 
of this incident, and to bless and dedicate its Battle- 
marker. We, therefore, by hoisting the Hag of our 
country over it, do now unveil the monument. 

I, Chris. T. Denroche, rector of St. Paul's Parish, 
Kent County, Maryland, do, in the name of God, 
solemnly dedicate this stone for the uses to which we 
have erected it. 

It will not be out of pLace, at this time to allow 
our hearts to swell with sympathetic sorrow for the 
unfortunate conquered men — a number of whose dead 
lie buried yonder — near to this Battle-marker. And 
as it is our honest desire to show, in a kind and 
marked manner that on this occasion we harbor no 
ill-feeling toward the nation or the men who fought 
against us on this field in 1814 — we have agreed, as a 
simple token of respect to a brave and conquered foe — 
that, side by side with our own country's victorious 
flag, we, in thoughtful silence, raise their country's 
flag. 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. ]C) 

Let US lioite that, as the two flags are now hoisted 
in peaceful relationship side by side, so friendship 
and peace between the tw^o countries represented bv 
the two flags, may be as enduring as the granite over 
which the}^ now wave. 

CHRISTOPHER T. DENROCHE. 



Inscription on Battle-Marker* 



THE British, Commanded by 

SIR PETER PARKER, Baronet, 

AND THE Americans, Commanded by 

COL. PHILIP REED, 

Met in Engagement on this Field, 

August 31st, 1814. 

The British Were Defeated 

AND 

Sir Peter Parker Killed. 

Erected A. D. 1902, 

BY MARYLANDERS, 

to Commemorate the Patriotism 

AND Fortitude 
OF the Victor and Vanquished. 



GENERAL PHILIP REED, 21 



ORATION 



I'.V llIK 



HON. WILLIAM M. MARINE. 



President Deiiioche introduced the orator of the 
occasion, the Hon. AVilliani jM. Marine, a native of 
the Eastern Shore, wlio delivered tlie I'ollowin.u- liistor- 
ical address : 

This nation is becoming x)articnhu]y gratefnl to its 
defenders, wliich is demonstrated by erecting to 
them, monuments. In what has been accomplished 
liere we are in accord vvith the developing spirit which 
may make ours the monumental era. Through such 
inspiration, the unmarked grave of General Philip 
Reed has escaped reproachful designation. The 
polished slab through the centuries 

Shall proclaim to the wide world his name, 
While the flowing years extend his tame. 

Caulk's Field has its ennobling recollections ; its 
honorable distinction is due to his masterful direc- 
tion : it is henceforth to be marked in giateful recog- 



22 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

nitiou of what lie and liis fellow-conntiaiis accom- 
plished eightj^-eight years ago. People of Kent, ac- 
knowledge him, as he must hereafter a])pear written, 
your niost illnstrious citizen. His grave is worthj^of 
the stone thoagh tliebody once placed in it may have 
crnmbled into dnst. The exaltation in yonr minds 
and hearts of what has occnrred is not to l)e dimin- 
ished in consequence of the few in numbers who w^ei*e 
engaged. Thermopylae was defended by a hundred 
men, who survived that battle and live now. The 
Alma, one of the most valliant and desperate defences 
in history, was maintained by fewer braves than were 
marshalled under Reed on this field. It is courage, 
heroism, and iinallv the mastery of the situation, 
wliicli make such conflicts memorable. 

Here, by speaking wooded heights, ])y smiling 
hills, in this vnlley of rei)ose, com^* a grnfeful ])eo[)le 
to unveil a stone ; to give to the wafting winds their 
heartfelt p^ons. We have been led hither by their 
county parson ; one whose care foi" living souls has 
not caused him to be unmindful of the dead ))ody of 
a servant of God and a defender of his country. Par- 
son Denroche was horn on p]nglish soil, but in chana- 
ing his citizenship from a fi-ee Englishman to a free 
American, Jie simply acted the easiest part in i)ersonal 
history and suffeied no shock in consequence. He 
only left the roof of his ])arents foi- that of his broth- 
ers. Nothing we have done oi' shall say, will interru2)t 
the amicable i-elations of the two national families. 



M 



GENERAL PHILIP REED, 23 

It is appropriate and touching in tliis era of 
comity and good-will between the Kingdom of Great 
Britain and the Republic of the United States, that 
Parson Denroche, the rector of I. U. Parish, of the 
Protestant Episcopal Cliurcli, should have resolved 
that Philip Reed, who, when among men, was a vestry- 
man of that parish church and a sincere worshipper 
within its walls, should sleep no longer the tenant of 
an unmarked grave. The Parson was heard to say, 
"That grave shall be marked if I have to beg from 
dooi- to door for the money/' Such a journey did not, 
happily, befall him. Thanks for that consumma- 
tion to those who made this project successful, which 
prevents it. No longer will a reproachful giave shock 
his eye on the Sabbath day, when he is entering the 
sanctuary to minister at the altar of Him, who is the 
ruler of all people, of governments, of patriots and 
of saints. 

The Parson and Captain Leary have told you in 
their addresses the history of the movement which 
gives a stone to yon grave and a marker to this field, 
thus relieving me from that branch of the hallowed 
and inspiring subject. 

Our thoughts will natui-ally follow in the dii-cction 

where the bugle sounded. War is as old as man, who 
has always had sanguinary instincts. " Thou shalt not 
kill '' was written on Sinai's stone ; nations nuiy set 
aside that commandment with imxninity, individuals, 
only at their peril. Heroes from crimson fields obtain 



2^ GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

wreaths and receive honors. They are the recipients 
ol' eniolunients and civic promotions; when tiiey die, 
J'reqnently tlieyfail into I'oi-gotten graves, and often 
elaborately marked graves are snbseqnently pillaged 
and desticyed. 

You sliall hear at this moment of a real hero ; one 
who was idolized within and witlioiit this county ; one 
whom you had nearly forgotten, whose life and record 
as far as it is possible, shall be placed before you. 
Henceforth from this day you reinstate him on tlip 
throne of your nlfectionate remembrance. 

Philip Reed was born in Kent County, Maryland, 
savs one encyclopaedia sketch of him, "about the 
year 1760." Another such sketch definitely settles 
upon the year 1760, as the time of his birth. His 
father was a planter ; we are without his mother's 
name, the Bible containing it being in some unknown 
person' s possession. Reed' s early days were spent on 
a farm ; he received an academical education nnd luul 
a knowledge of the classics. He was sixteen years of 
age at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 
and during 1776 he left school and entered the Con- 
tinental Army, which was one of the holiest bands of 
patiiots ever pledged to defend the cause of huiuan 
rio-hts. On the ariuy muster roll his name is written 
"Read," "Reid," and correctly '"Reed." The company 
in which he enlisted was recruited by Lieutenant Na- 
thaniel Kinnard, -li.; the members Avere receiyed and 
passed by William Henry, July 22, 1776. You will 



GENERAL PHILIP REED, '2t) 

observe he was cliiioiii;' the Hist wlio les^jouded to the 
rail of Ills l)]eedin,a- coiiiitiyiiieii. On the 2()th Feb- 
i-nai y, 1777, he was an ensiun in the f)th Maryhmd 
Keoiment. On liim was imposed the responsible and 
dano-erons dnty of bearing- ahdt the tiag of the i-egi- 
nient. On Octoliei' ]:5, 1778, he was promoted to a 
]ienteinin(^y, serving as siicli in the Third Maryhind 
Regiment. The 9tii Fel)i-nary, 1782, he received his 
commission as captain, when twenty-two years of age. 

A note opposite his name on the mnster roll states 
he was appointed in place of (Jai)tain Bird of the 
Fiist Regiment, wlio had been taken prisoner and 
re[)orted as 'lead. Snbseqnently, in a list of officers 
mentioned as ^'injnred'' of the Maryland Line, Jan- 
nary 1, 1788, his name api^ears as a prisoner of war. 

t The last mention of Captain Reed's nanre on the 
Revolutionary roster is made in this wise : " Term of 
service of such officers, between January, 1782, and 
January, 1783, and from tlience u]) to the 15th Noyem- 
ber of that year." 

Wherever regimental officei's of the troops to 
which he was attached drew swH)rds, excepting the 
time when he was a x)risoner of wai', there was Reed 
with his npiifted sword. Let his conduct throughout 
the war be viewed by the following circumstances : 

At the opening of the campaign of 1782, the Brit- 
ish commander, Clinton, was at Stony and Verfiank 
Points. A detachment of Maryland troops joined 
Lee's cavalrv. in which was Lieutenant Reed. Th^ 



2(3 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

force reported to General Washington. Desertions 
were nnmerons from tlie AniHrican ai-niy, and exam- 
ples were resolved upon. Lieutenant Reed was in- 
structed to advance to tlie enemy's outpost and inter- 
cept deserters. He formed liis cordon of sentinels out- 
side of those of the enemy. 

Fron) a British deserter he learned of the route 
takeu ])y American deserters. Reed immediately 
moved to that locality. Shortly these deserters pre- 
sented themselves. They took the Americans, who 
had thrown oif their regimental coats, the weather 
being warm, foi- the enemy. They were told they (;ould 
not pass Stony Point nntil they were examined by 
the detachment officer. They were then led to Reed 
who was in his shirtsleeves. Thinking he was a. Brit- 
ish officer, they again made known their wish to go 
ovei- to the enemy. They were at once informed of 
their mistake. Reed read to them his direct orders 
from General Washington, which were to execute all 
snch withont delay. Out of Reed's kindly impnlses 
he conclnded to make an example of but one of them ; 
lie proposed to the deserters that they sliould draw lots 
as to which of them should die. They point-blank 
refused, wheren])on Reed referred the case to those of 
his non-commissioned officers who considered tlie 
matter. Two of the deserters were Irishmen and the 
third one was an American. The lot fell on the Amer- 
ican, who was shot and his head stricken off and sent 
to General Washington's headqnarters and publicly 



GENERAL PHILIP REED, 27 

exposed. Tlie other two deserters were forwarded to 
the same pUice under giitnd. 

During Mr. Heed's sei-vicein tlie House of Kepre- 
sentatives, he declined endorsing the act (d" General 
Jackson in seizing and shooting Arburtlinot and Ani- 
l)iistie. It was sought by Mr. Tallniade, of New York, 
to parallel the case of Lieutenant Reed with that of 
General Jackson, — of course, there is no analogy. Mr. 
Tallniade. with glowing fervor, said, pointing to Mr. 
Reed, '-Thou art the man who without ceremony cut 
off the head of an American soldier and sent it to the 
camp of your General.'' 

Ji -^J * S yi * ■^ "" 

" The great soul of Washington fearlessly met the 
occasion ; he resolved on example, and issued orders 
that every deserter should suffer instant death. You, 
sir. had that order in your pocket the night of your 
absence with your command. These men, taken in 
the act of desertion, were brought to you, then, that 
heart which danger could not appall, for once trem- 
bled ; vou faltered between mercy and your duty ; 
you compromised with your generous feelings ; you 
spared two and executed one ; and, sir, your imme- 
diate superior officer told you it was mistaken mercy. 
This, and this only, was the censure to which the his- 
torian alluded to as being pronounced upon your con- 
duct. Sir, even this censure, you shortly wiped out- 
Your General foresaw that the crisis of the country 
required the reduction of Stony Point. Its neck of 



2c:^ GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

land was strongly occupied, and he had not means to 
approacli it. It was determined tocaiiy it by storm. 
A In-ave band of American youth uiulertook the ex- 
jdoit, and you, the bravest of the brave, marched at 
the liead. It was at k^w tide and at the midnight 
liour. You entered the i-iver u^ider the auspices 
of darkness and silence and went around the sentinels 
and gained the point ; you scaled the rampart aud 
then the bayonet was made to pert'orni its duty/' 

It was a gi-aphic picture IVfr. Tallnuule portrayed, 
and Ileed heard it in silence. When the speaker had 
concluded, Mr. Reed got up and stated: "It was 
Lieutenants Gibbons and Knox that marched at the 
head of the two columns. This command was decided 
by lot among the subaltern officers. He was in the 
supj)orting columns of Col. Butler, with whom aud 
Flury he had been that morning reconnoitering the 
works of the enemy. Content wdth having performed 
his duty, he would not for a moment wear the laurels 
earned by another." 

In that speech the real man shone like a jewel. 

Captain Reed at the close of the Revolntion 
returned to his Kent County home, a, youthful hero, 
respected foi- courage and patriotism The farm 
yielded its welcome, he and his horse were ch)se 
companions. He was 28 years of age when peace was 
declared. F.or thirteen years in tranquility he saw 
the wheat and corn grow ; he looked upon the thriv- 
ing grass v/hicii the winds played Avith, and listened 



GENICRAI. i'llll.iF REED, 29 

to the s(»ngs oi" the harvesters in the fields and to the 
birds overliead. He occupied on Sabbath day a ])ew 
ill 1. U. parisli church, not ashamed to strive after good- 
ness, which is far better than greatness, and possess- 
ing l)()tli. At the end of the period named he obeyed 
file public command of the State, requesting that he 
serve it in its most desirable arena. Pie was forty-six 
years of age, when on Monday, December 29, 180G, he 
was elected a United States Senator by the Legislature 
of Maryland, to succeed Robert Wright, who resigned 
to accept the office of (lovernoi'; he was elected for 
one year, Wright's unexpired time, and also elected 
to be a Senator from March, 1807, to the same month 
in 1813. Henry Clay took his seat in the place of 
John Adai]', ou the same day Mr. Reed was sworu in 
the Senate. 

The record of his accomplishments in the Senate 
is meagre. It ai^iears he indulged in remarlvs once 
only in the discussion over the production of a wit- 
ness in the case of John Smith, Senator from Ohio. 
He was complimented by Mr. Giles, a fellow-senator, 
wlio said : '' Senator Reed's suggestion was a strong 
argument against the resolution.'' 

It will be observed that he w^as a Senator at the com- 
mencement and during a part of the second year of the 
War of 1812. His opinions on the war are not in the 
official record. His sword has writteu what his actions 
were diiring that crisis. In 1813, he passed from the 
civil, back to the military service, and then in thehfty- 



30 GENERAL PHIEIP REED. 

third year of his age, hadbestowed upon him the rank 
of Lieuteiianr Colonel, of the volunteers of his State. 

Maryland was conspicuously honored, by the Brit- 
ish by their presence on the land and waters of the 
Chesapeake and its tributaries during the War of 
1812. Kent was in the chosen field which w*as alive with 
excitement; its soil echoed to the tread of the foeman. 
Georgetown was burned early in 1813, and by the light 
of its fire Kitty Knight's face has ever since been visi- 
ble. Cockburn is said to have felt his breast glow with 
a warmer tlame in her presence, than the one he lighted 
on the shores of the Sassafras. 

During the conflngration at Georgetown, Citizen 
Leary, who had been a soldier in the Revolution 
under Washington, took his ])oy along with him to 
Turner's Creek, where they saw the smoke from, the 
bui'iiing town. When the British expedition on its 
return reached the creek, they landed. The command- 
ing officers meeting with Mr. Leary, enteied into con- 
versation with him, while his sailors captured geese 
and ducks in an adjacent pond. It was by such 
methods they feasted like Lords of the Admiralty on 
shipboard; the entire line of the Chesapeake afford- 
ing the enemy vast and extended poultiy fields. The 
British officers sought to obtain information from Mr. 
Leary, which might be of service to his Majesty's fleet 
in future raids, which that gentleman positively 
declined to give, saying to his interogator, that he had 
been n soldier in the war for Independence, and that 



r,ENF.KAl. i'lUi.lP KF.RD, 3] 

he would be liable to be shot for coniuimiieatini^' infor- 
mation to the enemy were he to comply as requested. 
The geese and ducks belonged to Miss Knight. While 
they were being sent on ship-board, her farm manager 
stood trembling and fearing in the distance, silent and 
helpless. When the cackling geese, protesting against 
mnuiX into British stomachs, and their oars, could 
not be longer henrd, the manager's St. Pelee broke 
forth into tlame and fury, whose ashes, if there had 
been any, w^onld have pursued and buried thepurloin- 
ers irretrievably. 

The entire State was divided into military dis- 
tricts. Kent district w^as designated as the sixth, and 
was under the command of Brigadier General Benja- 
min Chambers. Colonel Reed commanded a regiment 
of less than the full complement of men necessary to 
constitute one. He w^as lookod to to do the fighting. 
Among his soldiers was a trooi) of horsemen com- 
manded by Cai)tain Wilson. The subjoined entries 
are from that company's book. Opposite one of the 
soldier's name is this entry: '' Returns in good 
time." Opposite the name of another: "Leave of 
absence nntil to-morrows" A further one has : "This 
day joined the trooi)S." The method of their detail- 
ment is thus disclosed : "9th May, 1813 — Sunday, 
Guard No. 2 at Richard Miller's ; class 1 relieved for 
a week if not sooner called on by class No. 2. This 
day week the troop was split into two classes, viz : 
1 class, whose tour commenced 2d May, Sunday, 8 



39 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

o'clock A. M. and terminated 9tli, Sunday, 8 o'clock 
A. M." A class consisted of about 20 persons. New 
classes were formed in times of invasion. When 
"English sliii)s aj^peared, the troops, which, during 
their absence, were permitted to go to their homes, 
reported for active sei'Vice. The following entry illus- 
trates that method: "May li)th, Thursday, order 
I'eceived for our troops to disl>and."' A further sample 
order reads of date June 5th: "The troops met on 
Wharton Commons ;'' still another of date Jul}^ 
27th : •' State pay-roll was made out for time of ser- 
vice of the troop while on the bay shore.'' The horse- 
men were actively kept in the saddle. " August 7th, 
Saturday, the troop started for Rock Hall." There- 
after "on August 25th, it was ortlered by Captain 
Wilson," ''that the troop meet in Chestertown, next 
Saturday three weeks, it being law-day." Another 
note reads: "Between 7 and 8 a. m, the troops at 
Rock Hall were disbanded by Lieutenant Colonel 
Reed." That disbaiulment must have been for a few 
days only, it a|)pearing that the troops were on duty 
from the 7th to the 25th of August. September 30th, 
the troop met Colonel Reed's regiment in William 
Strong's lield, about thirty members being i)resent. 
Mention is made in the record of certain members 
being yoted out of the troop and of one "who solic- 
ited to ])e voted out who was refused." By appoint- 
ment of the Captain, "the 2d Saturday in November 
next was to be law-day," — probably a day set ajmrt 



GENERAi. I'lni.lP KEEl). H'^ 

for inspection and drill. November 2u{K fhe troop 
were paid oif foi' the previous Aug'ust's services thus 
endino' theii' lecord for the year 1813. 

During an encampment at Hook Hall, a heavy 
easterly ^^'ale accompanied by lain made the ground 
muddy. The tents were um'omfortable, and the men 
<'(miplained that they had to sleep upon tlie wet 
o-round. Colouel Reed sent for Michael Miller, acting 
quarter-master, and pretended to berate him for care- 
lessness, which Miller, who was a wag, perfectly well 
understood, was with the intention of pacifying the 
men who were grumbling at their accommodations. 

"Quarter-master Miller,'^ said Reed, "my men 
must not sleep (Ui the wet ground, and you must get 
straw for them, and right away, sir— to-night, sir, and 

at once, sir." 

"But," pleaded the Quarter-master, "it is night 
now and late, and it cannot be done." 

"But it must be done, sir, and I will hold you 
responsible if it is not done, for disobedience of an 
order. Go and get stiaw ; take it from anywhere 
around here ; take carts and oxen and bring it, and 
do you go at once, sir." Miller went off, and after 
midnight returned with the straw, which pleased the 
men. Reed complimented Miller for his promptness 
in executinghis order,after which he recognised one of 
his slaves. He wished to know from him what he was 
doing there i He then learned that Miller had passed 
^xev\ one's farm irntil lie had reached Reexi's Hunting- 



34 GEiNERAL PHILIP REED. 

Held farm, where he ordered the Cohmel's shwes to 
yoke up his oxen and h)ad the carts with straw and 
drive tliera with it to the tents.* 

When the British encamiDed on Kent Island, 
Reed was apprehensive lest they shonld cross the 
Chester river in large force and devastate the farms. 
He resorted to a clever stratagem. He directed his 
cavalry, which, as we have seen, was a small force, to 
cross from what is now^ R. B. Willson's farm, known 
as Trnmi)ington, to the Jones farm on Eastern Neck 
Island. The crossing was in full view of the enemy's 
lookout-boats stationed in the mouth of the Chester 
river ; hours were apparently consumed in doing so, 
but it was the little force counter-marching and re- 
crossing all the while in a ferry scow. 

Such stratagems w^ere more than once resorted to 
(luring the War of 1812. Indeed, the science of that 
struggle w^as immensely similar to tlie tactics and 
ruses of the Revolution. There was slight improve- 
ment in arms or tactics until a much later period. 

About this time two sentinels w^ere stationed on 
the Huntinglield farm to watch the outlook-boats of 
the British at the mouth of the Chester river. The 
sentinels had paced their weary rounds through the 
night. On beholding the streaks of daylight in the 
east, their muskets grew^ heavier from fatigue. One 
of the sentinels said to the other one : "lam sick 
from hunger. I had nothing to eat last night ; it is 



^Authority of C. A. Leary. 



GENF.KAL I'HILIP REED, 35 

time we were relieved ; they have forgotten about us, 
and I am going to hunt for something to eat." ''But," 
said liis comiade, ''shouhl you leave your post and it 
get to the Colonel's ears, you will be undone/' The 
sentinel went off, and in a short time there was such a 
howling that the sentinel at his i^ost thought one of 
the ))lack regiments of slaves formed by the British 
was mai'ching in his direction. Looking up he saw 
his brother sentinel I'eturning witli a pone of corn 
oake, through which he had rammed his bayonet, 
followed by women and children in blabbing despair 
at having lost their breakfast l)read. The sentinel 
happened by one of the slave's huts as the bread was 
taken out of the oven ; it was too hot for his hands, 
so he ran his bayonet through it and marched off. 
Rejoining his associate, he said : " Here is proviu- 
der — we are all right now."* 

Stirring times were ahead ; larger game was to be 
hunted than was found in attacking nndefended 
towns and burning them. Everywhere the premoni- 
tions were that serious business was nearing. March 
12, 1814, an entry in the book from which we have 
quoted of the cavalry, reads : "The troops met to- 
day at Ghestertown to receive arms." The names are 
given of thirty persons to whom they were distribnted. 

Colonel Reed was the nervy pilot, and to his 
experience, clearness and coolness of judgment the 
county was pleased to defer. On the original Letter 



*Authority of C. A. Leary. 



3B GENERAL PMILIP REED. 

File No. 33 of the Maryland Hisrorical Society, is a 
communication written ])y him to Governor Winder, 
complaining of the failni-e to deliver, accoi'ding to a 
verl)al demand made by him, })o\vder, ball and ammu- 
nition for his men. In that communication he mani- 
fests surprise that his requisitions had not been at- 
tended to. The letter is in a neat hand, small letters, 
the cbirography denoting originality, and having one 
of the characteristics of the givat, inasmncli as it is 
difficult to be read. 

One of your citizens""- has given me an account of 
an encounter which took jdace at Worton Creek prior 
to the engagement at Caulk's Field, which account he 
received from persons who particix^ated in the hght. 
AVheii the British sent barges from the Menelaus uj) 
the creek, the small force of the Americans detailed 
thereabout, were not then near by. Upon their being- 
informed of the presence of the British they ran across 
the country to a X)oint near the mouth of the creek, 
shaded by thick i)ines and tangled undergrowth. The 
boats were returning fi-om uj:* the ci-eek when tlie 
Americans opened np a brisk tire ; numbers of the 
enemy were seen by the Americans to fall. A shower 
of one-ounce balls pierced through the .side of a barge 
below the water-line, causing several leaks. The dis- 
abled men were placed on the opposite side of the 
boat so as to keep the holes above water. The British 
had proven bad marksmen. Several of the Americans 



*Authority of Capt. C. A. Leary. 



GENERAL PHILIP KEED. 37 

ran to a sand bar when a sailor in one of the Jaiinches 
in liis eagerness to do execution n})on tlieni, dis(diarged 
liis musket before witlidrawing his iron ramrod, which, 
when lired off, struck a hard substance in the sand and 
bent nj) near where a man named Rogers was standing. 
The oars in the enemies' boats at one time stood 
blades up ; the Americans continued firing until they 
were lowered. The officer in charge of the boat stood 
upon the stern sheets and waved his hat until they 
were out of range of the marksmen. Colonel Reed, 
w^ho, to the surprise of every one, appeared on the 
scene, was told of the throwing up of the oars ; he in- 
formed the men "that that was a man-of-warsnien\s 
way of surrendering ; that they had captured the boat 
but did not know of it." When informed of the con- 
duct of the officer. Colonel Reed said : " It is well 
you did no harm to him, he was a brave fellow and 
knew his duty to his men and to his King." My in- 
formant's recollection is, that in the beginning of the 
skirmish, the only officer i)resent was a Lieutenant ; 
that Colonel Reed arrived unexpectedly during the 
progress of the fight. It was probably the same engage- 
ment mentioned in the National Intelligencer of July 
16th, 1814, subjoined, " Four schooners were off Swan 
Point, sailing down the bay and going as far as An- 
napolis ; when retracing their course up the bay, with 
fifteen captured craft, they made observations in each 
creek and river on both shores. Colonel Reed was in 
the locality of AVorton's Creek ; he armed himself 



3g GENEF^AL I'lIlLlP KEEl). 

with a musket and summoned twenty of the neigh- 
bors who carried duck-guns and muslvets. The force 
was concealed in ambuscade. Four barges entered 
Worton, the largest in advance. When the barges 
were in short range of Colonel Reed's force, they 
fired four deliberate rounds which caused their retreat. 
Of the twenty-four oars }n'ox)elling the boats when 
they neared the ambuscade, only four were used when 
they pulled out, showing the effect of the firing to 
have caused fatalities." 

The Intelligencer and Niles' Register had great 
respect given to their rei)orts. Thej^ had the weight 
of official utterances. The Intelligencer's account 
only disagrees with your fellow-citizens in two ])ar- 
ticulars, viz: in a Lieutenant being in charge of the 
force at the commencement of the firing and Reed's 
interpretation of the meaning of throwing ux) the oars. 
The latter circumstance is a mere omission on the part 
of the pax)er. Both accounts can be accej)ted as in the 
main correct. 

We have reached the period of the great event in 
Colonel Reed's momentous life ; an achievement your 
memorial is set up to commemorate. Parlver was ener- 
getic in conducting his short campaign of predatory ex- 
cursions hereabout. Cockburn had inaugurated them ; 
they were an inseparable 2)art of the method of British 
naval warfare. In a memorial volume issued in Lon- 
don, to perpetuate and popularize Parker's name and 
memory, we are told that his object in making his 



GENF.RAl. I'lniAV KEEI3. 89 

final (leiiionstmtioii was to pieveiit "'one man in every 
iive being drawn from the popnlation on the Eastern 
Shore I'oi' tlie defense of Baltimore." He determined 
to storm the American camp. Dnring night he landed 
a body of seamen and marines not exceeding 140 
men formed into two divisions, headed by Lieutenants 
Crease and Pearce, the whole commanded by himself. 
They captured a lookout picket and one or two 
dragoons when tliev moved for the enemy's camp, who 
had shifted his position. After marching four miles 
they found him on a plain surrounded by a deep wood, 
his camp in his rear. His troops consisted of 5(H) 
militia ; a troop of horse and 5 pieces of artillery. 
He was formed inline and ready for action. Parker 
immediately made an attack, and under his fire and 
his charges the Americans were driven from their posi- 
tion and routed, when they took refuge behind their 
artillery, where he made a stand, losing one of his 
guns, which aftei- its capture was abandoned. Dur- 
ing a renewal of the attack, and while Sir Peter Parker 
was animating his men, he received a mortal wound 
which obliged him to quit the field, and he expired in 
a few minutes. The ball entered his right thigh and 
cut the main artery. He smiled and said: "They 
have hit me Pearce, at last, but it is nothing, push on 
my brave fellows and follow me." He advanced a few- 
paces further, and from the flow of blood greAv weak, 
fell into the arms of Lieutenant Pearce and then had 
that officer to sonnd the bugle to leave the field, when 



40 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

lie died. The (u)iitlict deepened, and it was of impor- 
tance who shonld successfully bear off his body. He 
was i^laced on the shoulders of his men, who relieved 
each other by turns, and thus they bore him to the 
shore, live miles away. That is substantially what 
our English cousins say about the battle. 

The British official list of their killed and 
wounded reported by Henry Crease, acting comman- 
der, were : Killed, Sir Peter Parker, baronet ; Captain 
J. T. Sands, midshipman ; R. Friar and R. Robinson, 
quartermasters ; J. Perren, swabber ; T. Dorris, sail- 
maker ; G. Hall, ordinary seaman ; J. Evans, sergeant- 
of-marines ; W. Hooper, W. Davis, R. Johnson, W. 
Rogers, W. Powell and R. Jones, marines, a total of 
fourteen acknowledged to have been killed. The 
wounded were reported to ])h : T. Pitzmaurice, boat- 
swain's mate, severely ; J. McAllister, J. Mooney, sea- 
men, severely ; M. Cullen, seaman, slightly ; J. Cooper 
and J. Malcolm, seamen, severely ; A. Mc Arthur, cap- 
tain of the forecastle, severely ; W. Noel, seaman, 
slightly ; T. Taffield, quartermaster's mate, severely ; 
M. Halligan, quarter-gunner, slightly ; B. G. Beynon. 
lieutenant-of-marines, severely ; G. Poe, similar offi- 
cer, slightly ; J. List, J. Harvey, J. Schriber, G. Mor- 
rell and W. Smith, marines, slightly ; W. Golatham, 
E. Turner and W. Pritchard, marines, and J. Mandei-- 
son, a seaman, J. Rowe, landsman, and G. Hobbs, 
captain of the foretop, severely. A total of 28 admit- 
ted to have heen wounded, some of whom subse- 



GENERAL FHiLlP REED. 41 

qnently died. 

There is a nnld eiT.,r. pnt forth i,i the foregoing 
account to claim an advantage for themselves over the 
Americans. We shall have to shatter that tlimsy at- 
tempt There were not live hundred n.en under the 
starry banner of the Republic ; the cavalry were not 
in the fight ; .lor were there five pieces of arti lery. 
The British at no time proved masters ot the held. 

The \mericans buried the fallen British by the 
roadside, where a hedge now grows in thrifty lux- 
uriance. About the year 1830, a small boy on his way 
home from school saw some workn.eu opening a n.ound 
„„ the roadside ; he stood and watched the dirt-heav- 
ers The friends of the dead midshipman had sent 
across the ocean to bear the relics of their h.ved 
one over the sea. He was identified and his remains 
conveyed to England, where he sleeps, perhaps m 
one of those beautiful country church-yards where 
sublime stillness hovers over the sward. The earth 
was thrown back and has not since been disturbed. 
The dead Britons have graves secured against depreda- 
tions, in which they will rest securely until the Judg- 
ment Day. 

Recently, Committeeman Leary, wh<, was the boj 

,vho witnessed the search after the bones of the mid- 
shipman, has placed a rough stone in the hedge, on a 
located spot where the graves are supposed to be 

We will now narrate the American account of the 
battle of " Caulk' s Field." 



42 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

The oinnipotent Colonel Reed, the night of the 
engagement atCanld's Field,* acconij)anied by a few 
men, reconnoitered the enemy when they were on 
line of march. Colonel Reed left his force and 
rode forward a considerable distance until he heard 
the approaching footsteps of the British, which he 
informed himself of by placing his ear close to the 
earth. On retnrning to his men, he was asked why 
he had exi:)Osed himself so recklessly, his rex)ly was, 
" No capable British officer would allow his line to be 
thrown in confusion for one man." 

Colonel Reed's official rejDort of the battle of 
Caulk's Field made by him to General Chambers, is 
an authority for the following account of that battle 
of which it is the index : At half -past 11 o'clock in 
the early part of the night of the 30th of August, 1814, 
the enemy's barges at AValtham's farm were making 
for the shore, supposedly to burn the houses on that 
gentleman's property. Colonel Reed m.arched to inter- 
cept them, when he ascertained that they were mov- 
ing on his camp. He ordered the camp and baggage 
changed to another locality a short distance away. 
He then gave orders for the troops to counter-march 
and to pass by the road to the right of his camp and 
form OH the rising ground about three hundred paces to 
the rear, the right towards Caulk's house and the left 
on the road. The artillery, consisting of three pieces, 
was placed in the centre, supported right and left by 



=Autliority of Capt. C. A. Leary. 



GENERAL PHILIP KEEl). 4;;^ 

the iiifaiiti y. Captain AVickes and a part of his ritle 
companj-^ covered tlie road 1)}' which the enemy 
marched. Colonel Reed had his headqnarters with 
that detachment. 

The British colnmn received the fire of the ad- 
vanced riflemen when at the distance of seventy paces 
from them. The enemy's force being too strong, 
Colonel Reed ordered his riflemen to form on the right 
of his main line wliich had been placed in position by 
Major Wickes and Captain Chambeivs, the Colonel 
taking his post by the line. The flrst serious effort 
of the enemy was a fruitless attempt to break and 
drive back the line firmh' standing in ftontof them; 
a general flring resulted. Parker was unable to do so. 
Failing, he next threw^ himself on Chambers' company 
on the left; there he was again baffled and defeated. 
From some cause, not then understood bv the Ameri- 
cans, the British had nearly ceased flring when it was 
ascertained that in some parts of the American line 
cartridges were entirely expended. The number in 
any one of the boxes of the men who were lucky 
enough to have them was a few rounds only. Each 
man carried into the action twenty rounds. The artil- 
lerymen had also exhausted their shot. Colonel 
Reed shifted his ptosition to where a part of the line 
had been fortified close by the main line of battle; 
there the few remaining cartridges were distributed 
among tJiat part of the line which was expected to re- 
sist another attack. They were surprised at remain- 



^4 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

ing unmolested. The artillery and such of the infan- 
try as were without ammunition had heen sent a few 
miles distant to Bel Air, now Fairlee. At the time 
the Americans changed position the British retired. 
They had lost Sir Peter Parker, who with his last 
breath had given the order to retreat. He was 
wounded on a spot where stood a cherry tree. An 
nnauthenticated claim as to who shot him, was made 
in behalf of Henry Urie,* who is said to have pointed 
at one of the officers of the enemy wearing white 
trousers, and remarked: "See that man in white 
pantaloons, I am going to shoot him." The retreat of 
the British left the Kent men in possession of the 
field. The engagement lasted tifty-live minutes, the 
moon shining brightly throughout all that time. A 
neighboring wood protected the enemy by its shade 
nnd somewhat obscured their line. The hash of their 
guns indi^-ated where they were, while the aim of the 
Americans was deadly in effectiveness. According to 
the report of Colonel Reed, the enemy left one mid- 
shipman and eight men dead on the field and nine 
wounded, six of whom died in a few hours. The 
fatality of their wounds was probably known to the 
British who did not encumber themselves with them. 
Sir Peter Parker was killed by a buckshot. His force 
was armed with boarding pikes, swords, muskets 
and rockets. Many such were captured. Colonel 
Reed posted a picket guard under Ensign S kirven ori 

*Authority of Capt. C. A. Leary. 



GENERAL PHILIP REEL). 45 

the battle ground for the remainder of the night of the 
31st of August, the battle having been fought after 
midnight of the 81st. One hundred and seventy-four 
Americans shared the glory of that engagement. They 
were the companies of Captain Ezekiel Chambers, 
Hand, Wickes, Griffith and Page. Tlie artillery was 
served by Captain Usilton, numbering officers and 
men twenty-one mend)ers. The Cavalry were not 
available for service. Of the courage and competency 
of their captain there can be no question. 

Not a single person was killed on the American 
side ; an exceedingly marvelous circumstance. The 
wounded were John Magnor and Philii) Crane, of 
Chambers^ company, and John Glanville, of Page\s 

company. 

We shall not pass this way again, therefore, at 
the risk of prolixity hear in an abbreviated form, 
the account of the battle appearing in the Balti- 
more American of September 6th, 1814. The narra- 
tion was a cheerful message to the troops assembled 
for the defence of Baltimore city. It was read in the 
streets, homes, hotels and in the camp of the threat- 
ened town. Kent had scourged the invaders from her 
soil. The youthful Reed of the Revolution, who was 
then the middle-aged commander of the defenders of 
hearths and homes, had omened the result of the Bal- 
timore conflict soon to take place. Where freemen 
make a stand there the oppressors fail, and so in type 
the storv was told in this wise: August 80, about 



46 GENERAL FHILIP REED. 

12 o'clock, tlie crew of the Menelaus, excepting a small 
guard, landed to surprise Colonel Heed's force. The 
enemy made seizure of certain negroes, who conducted 
them by a circuitous route towards our camp. Colonel 
Reed fell back to ground chosen by him flanked by 
a wood in which he posted a few liflemen. There the 
attack began which resolutely and gloriously lasted 
nearly an hour, when the British retreated, leaving 
on the field thirteen killed, among whom were one 
midshipman, one master-mate, one ca^^taiu of the 
foretop and three men badly wounded. The retreat 
was at the moment when the twenty rounds of amniu- 
nition to a man was nearl}^ exhausted. It was made 
in consequence of the fall of their commander under a 
second wound which killed him, which is reported by 
one of the wounded left behind. The captain with 
other dead and wounded were taken Avitli them to the 
bay. 

The 28th they landed at Worton and burned 
Waller's house and stock after a bombardment. On 
the 3()th they did the same thing to Richard Frisby 
at Bel Air. They took four negroes and burned the 
hogs in tlje sty. Tuesday night they had a liigh 
frolic, dancing and drinking; they took a circuitous 
route piloted by negroes. The Colonel was apx)rised ; 
he struck his tents and sent them off and then put his 
troops in motion and got by the advance post before 
his purpose was discovered. Tlie eneujy was in Major 
Bowers' upper corn field X)ressing for the encamp- 



(iENKKAl, I'HILIP REKD. 47 

merit. Our men moved back with speed to the field 
on tlie rising oronnd towards Caulk's lionse. The 
rifie cor})s liad just got to the woods when the enemy 
came upon them. The rifiemen were tw^enty in num- 
ber ; when they fired, they dropX)ed several of the 
enemy. The action was genera], after wdiich the Brit- 
ish fled. We had three x^eces of artillei'y in tlie cen- 
tre whicdi kept up an animated fire. The enemj^ 
pressed on with ardor to take our cannon, and were 
within fifty yards of the militia when they gave up the 
contest. Sir Peter Parker fell before the artillery. 
Our guaids say seventeen dead and Avounded were 
carried oft' by the enemy. They made two of our men 
prisoners, AVhitehead Bill A])sby, a trooper, w^ith his 
horse, and John Clark. The guard over Absby was 
shot and he escaped. By a flag of truce from the ship, 
w^e learn they landed two hundred and sixty men. 
Parker had been ordered to leave for down the bay 
but said he "must have a frolic with the Yankies be- 
fore he left them." 

Excepting as to the numbers engaged and to the I'e- 
X)orted losses of the British, there is a certain harmou}^ 
in these resx)ective accounts. The victorious gloss at- 
temxDted to varnish over the report of the enemy is too 
thin to mislead any one. The trained men of the 
English navy w^ere vanquished by numbers not large! 3' 
in excess of their own, accexjting their account as 
to numbers. The British on Sir Peter's death, at his 
order abandoned the fii>ht and left the field in confu- 



4^ GENERAL PHILIP REED 

sion, unable tu take along all of their dead and 
wounded; leaving several of their dead to be buried by 
the Americans and their wounded so left to be cared 
for bv tliem. A longer continuance of the fight and 
the result would have been otherwise. Emi>ty mus- 
kets do not win battles. Parker's death gave us the 
victory. Over that victory we may rejoice, not in the 
vain boast of the braggart, but from thankful hearts 
filled with love of hearth and home. 

The engagement was conducted according to the de- 
fined science of military warfare existing at that day. 
Neither side could risk hazardous movements ; face to 
face they fought sullenly to the end of the conflict. 

Who can estimate what were the emotions of hus- 
band and wife, brother and sister, sweetheart and 
beaux, when the soldiers stood at the gates of homes, 
and told their loved ones. God saved us from peril, 
none of our men are dead. Hearts sent forth their 
tedeams, and gladness was wafted in the land wh^ie 
the heralds of space warbled in the tree branches. 

Caulk's Field in its own way was a renewal of the 
spirit shown at Lexington and Concord. It was not 
a running fire in which tree, stone, hedge and houses 
were fortresses of flame, bnt an exciting encounter be- 
neath the moon's soft beams which shown upon victor 
and vanquished and over the pale faces of the English 
dead, hearing no call to return to the ship: their 
spirits had left the field to join their Cajjtain's, where 
no such commands are responded to: he lay on his 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 



•19 



oorv couch, — 

" Soldier rest, thy warfaif o'er. 
Dram of fisliting fieUls no more ; 
Sleep tl,e sleep that knows no hreakin-. 
MornoftcMl. nor ni-ht of uakino." 

Two wcoks niter Cnulk s bield li.ui ,-,.1 

pastonU quietude a,ul ,«,-erul„ess. •■^'';;--'' ;;;- 
s,,ou,leato,l,eo.„„sol-them..„,.rKeu,. n,eyou,h- 
,,,,„„, „„ble Parker was not -aUme in Ins ,lorv 
.|.,„. .,.i|t,.,l Ross shared m similar fnie. nn>l l»>. ..f 
l,n.d,nHl-s l.rnves, leaders perished on M.vvland s 
.„n. ltlu,sheenstated.lK,t,l,el,,,diesot-Parl<erand 

K OSS were sent on ,l,e sann. shi,. lo llalrlax. 1 lu.t 

stateinen, is ineorreet. The British on llo.ir way to 
Newdrleans. ,ookwi,l,,hen. onhoardoin.elona.o. 

,..nker's iHulv ,.. lienunda, where i, was ,enM.on,r,l.v 
,,„,„,siled unnl subsequenllv .■onveye.lt,.l,on.lon. 
,,„ a warn, day in Augnsl. lool.your speaker 
,,,.,„, ,,. „,„„,,.,.in,' alon,' .he aisles of slalely 
Wesuaius.er Abbey; weary or .he n.n,en,pla„onol 

s yspl b.rs re,lee,e,l in marble plaeedove 

,,,„,„„„„,sorkin,s.wa,.iorsands.a,esn,en. A .he 
h,„„ or noon, he wi,hd,ew iron, .he Abbey n.wh.eh 

,,„M,ere, nod and I-. ,s in Kn,.lish Ins.ory. and 

:,„„h. n.rn,einS..Mar,ne,-Mes.Mn,..eh,adio,n,n,. 

K.nlerin. h,or oi' .he sane.nary, he dropped .u.o a 

„„,,.,,;„,„. Twoeler,^ymen«e,een.ua,^ed n, .vad- 
•„,.. noon davpn.vers. tour andi.orsbein.presenMo 
,„:„., hen,. ■ Mooked aronad ,ne and hxed , ay ,ln,n.e 



50 GENF.RAL PHILIP RKED 

on an elaborate tablet ten feet from where I sat. On 
it was a tree and a wounded man ])eneatL it, in tlin 
arms of a comrade ; an anchor and coil of rope and a 
sliijj under full complement of canvas was represented. 
A madallion on which liad been chiseled a striking- 
face was prominent. That face was surrounded by em- 
blems of war. An elaborate inscription was conspicu- 
ous on the tablet, and from where I sat, I read the 
name of "Sir Peter Parker, Baronet." Until that 
moment I was in ignorance of his burial place. At the 
conclusion of the service I read the following epitaph: 
" In the pious hope of a glorious resurrection, pui-- 
sued through virtue, faith and valor, here lies interred 
the mortal remains of Sir Peter Parker, Baronet, Cap- 
tain of his Majesty's frigate, Menelaus. An accom- 
plished officer and seaman, who, after landing with a 
part of his crew on the coast of America, defeated an 
enemy supported by cavalry and artillery, three times 
the number of his own forces, and in the moment of 
victory i-eceived a mortal wound, under which he con- 
tinued to cheer his men to follow up their triumph, 
until sinking under its fnta! results, he fell into the 
arms of the companions (d' his glor.y and l)ravely sur- 
rendered on the field of battle, his own gallant spirit 
to the mercj^ of heaven." 

"Tie Avas a lineal descendant of three distin- 
guished British admirals, of whose virtues and valor 
he was alike the inheritor. His great-grand-father 
was Admiral Christopher Parker. He was the eldest 



GENERAL PHTIJP REED. 51 

son of Admiral Charles Parker, whose father was the 
hite Sir Peter Parker, Pajoiiet of IJasseiigboiiin Hall 
of Essex, Admiral of the tieet, and his maternal uncle 
was the Honorable Admiral Byron." 

"After fifteen years of active service and intrepid 
toil in the service of his country, emulating the vir- 
tues of his ancestry, he thus gloriously closed his 
earthly career August 30, 1814." 

After reading the eulogy of Sir Peter Parker as I 
had done that of Ross in St. Paul's Cathedral, pro- 
claiming that that chieftain "was killed while direct- 
ing a successful attack upon a superior force near the 
city of Baltimore," and recalling that Ross was killed 
in a skirmish which his army had with a few men in 
front of his advance, prior to the battle. 1 was com- 
pelled to the conclusion that for such disasters re- 
ceived from the Americans, the only salve for British 
wounds is a tablet in the sanctury of truth, and upon 
it, the honeyed soothing words, "of successful attack 
and superior force." An easy way of securing vic- 
tories. 

On tills tiaming held of ycmr fathers' valor, we set 
up a stone free and clear from fulsome eulogy. The 
inscription wall not be read ])y as many eyes as shall 
gaze upon the one in the largest city in the world. 
The rustic, who is the patriot, the salt of the earth in 
all its ages, shall henceforth read what the stone 
teaches : "The British under Sir Peter Parker, Bar- 
onet ; tlie Americans under Colonel Philip Reed, were 



52 



engage, on .his 1ie,d.An.,.tHl.lB14 The bnu;^ 

were defeated and Si. P-'"' P-'-'' '-' «\^ ,' ' 
,„is tenderly has „een added, ^ ><:--\';>;; ^^ 
l„„aers to oomn,emo,a.e the patrtot.sn, and fo.tttnde 
<,[ the victor and vanquished."* , , , ,. 

The Menehxns, a thirty -eight-gnn shtp, had lon„ 

1 1 1 Qi,. Pufer Parlter. In tliat ship 
been connnanded by Su Petei f aiKe 

„e had unstained nnmerons enconnters vUl tl e 
K,e„el> ,.n the coasts of England and Italy. n March, 
,814,Parker was on the eve of retiring fron., that ship s 
eoniniand, when he received an order t.Mn-eedo 

Bordeaux and join Admiral Malcolm. He sailed w i U 
that officer for America early in May. arriving at B . - 
,„„,„ „ API,, ; thence he sailed for tfie ChesapeaK , 
and on the 27th of September he was detached by Ad- 
miral Cochran to assist in the blockade of the Port o 
Baltimore, having beside his ship two light draught 

smaller vessels. 

It was announced that Parker was engaged to be 

,„arried to t.ord Byron's cousin. That noble lord by 
iaUeritance of his title, and worl.l-uide renowned den. 
ocrat by virtue of his sentiments; the most gUted poet 
,,. „is age, has commemorated his friends and kin- 
„,an'sfate in " Kligiac stan.as, on the Death of Su 
Peter Parker, Baronet." Fr.un that poem, written 
probably lor the memorial volume luiblished^^^ 

^^ Z^^ the battle field marker and tomb- 

*The inscription on bo h the battle occasion ; 



GENEkAI. PHILIP KEKD. fui 

petuate Parker's memory, are quoted the following 



verses 



"And, t^allant Parker! tluis enshrined 

Thy life, thy fail, thy fame shall be; 
And earthly valor glowing, find 

A model in thy memory." 

"Where shall they turn to mourn tliee less? 

When cease to hear tiiy cherished name ? 
Time cannot teach forgetfulness 

While grief's full heart is fed by fame." 

The ships of England, with sad reminders on 
board of them, bid farewell to the shores of the Ches- 
apeake. They passed beyond the capes, a part of 
them to a final fiehl of discomfiture, after which the 
cannon lapsed into silence and the mnsket became 
rusty, and may they evermore remain so ])etwpen 
the two nations while the same star of civilization 
shall light both nations on th^glorions track of destiny. 

Reed Avas again in retirement at Hunting-field 
farm. From his window he looked out on 

" The foam crested waves of the Chesapeake bay." 

He heard the songs of his slaves in the fields, and 
the warbling birds in the woods; he led the chase 
after the foxes, fished in the bay and saw the silvery 
shad whiten the shore of the river in spring season ; 
he o-unned in the forests for game, while before him 
swam the stately swan, and there were acres of water 
covered with wild ducks. He looked after his fields, 
provided for his slaves, fed his flocks, rode his horse 



54 GF^Mr^RAL PHII.IP RREH. 

up and down tlie country ; got his mail, read his let- 
ters and his l)ooks, condncted his oorresx)ondence ; 
kept open doors and entertained his friends from the 
oyster-beds of the Chesapeake, which teemed in abnn- 
d;int I'ichness at his door. 

Though home have its lavish attractions ; one of a 
wandering mind will not stay there. The old salt soon 
tires of port and the lasses of the sailor-boarding-house. 
He longs to hear the w\af ting of the breeze rattling the 
cordage, creaking like spirit-sounds. From youth 
Reed had lived in a storm. Public lify is troubled 
w^ater. Those who have entered it are dissatisfied out 
of it ; into it the General was again to venture. It 
must be noted that since Caulk' s Field battle, the 
State had conferred upon him the rank of Brigadier 
C^eneral in grateful appreciation of his victory. He 
was elected to the House of Representatives in 1817. 
When the Military Appropriation Bill was up, he de- 
livered a speech upon it in which he claimed, "larger 
appropriations had been made than wei-e necessar}" for 
the payment oX the army ; that a part of the money 
appropriated under the head of military expenditures 
had l)een applied to the purpose of m:iking roads. It 
appeared clearly to him that the question on the ])]'op- 
osition to reduce the army ought to be first settled." 
In a second speech on the same subject, he thought 
"it very proper for the soldiers to be employed in con- 
structing and repairing barracks," etc., but he did not 
"think it right to expend the money in [mying them 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 55 

extra pay for such labor ; an extra ration might be 
given, but soldiei-s thus enniloyed on what was called 
extra labor were exempt I'roni all other duty at the 
time,'' and he '^did not think they ouglit to receive ex- 
tra pay for it ; it was the pioper duty of the army to 
construct bridges and i-oads i'or itself to pass over." 

An interesting event in his congressional career 
took place in the House, the 23d January, 1817, when 
he submitted the following preamble and resolution : 

" Whereas, A resolution was passed by Congress 
of the United States, on the 14th day of October in 
the following words, to wit : 

''Resolved, That a monument })e ei-ected to the 
memory oC the late Major General, the Baron De Kall>, 
in the city of Ann polls, in the State oi Maryland, 
with the following inscription : 

"'Sacred to the memory of the Raron De Kalb, 
Knight of the Royal Order of France and Major Gen- 
eral in the service of the United States of America; 
having served with honor and reputation for three 
years, he gave a last and glorious \)V(Hii of his attach- 
ment to tlie liberties of mankind, and the cause of 
America, in the action near Camden, in the State of 
South Carolina, on 10th August, 1780, when leading 
the troops of the Maryland and Delaware lines against 
superior numbers, and animating by liis example to 
(^eeds of valor, he was pierced Avith many wounds, and 
on 10th following, expired in the 40th year of his age. 
The Co]ii;ress of the United States of America, in 



GEMEKAL PKILIP REED. 
DO 

o-vatitude to his zeal, service and merit, have erected 

this monument.' 

^^ Resolved, therefore, That the aforegoing reso- 
lutions be referred to a select committee with instruc- 
tions to report a hill now to carry tlie same into 

effect." 

Mr Mercer advocated the resolutions. Mr. An- 
derson, of Kentucky, opposed them. "He would 
never vote for a monument to a snbordinate or a for 
eign officer so long as the remains of Washington lay 
neglected."' He moved to lay the resolution on the 

table. 

General Philip Reed was put on his mettle, and 
most courageously did he respond; "it was true," 
he said, "that a proposition was now before the Sen- 
•ite to carry into effect the resolutions of the old Con- 
gress which voted an equestrian statue for General 
Washington, but whether that should pass or not, 
ou-ht not to interfere with the present motion, and 
the fate of that proposition would not prevent him 
from calling on the House to carry into effect a law 
passed nearly forty years ago, and to which the faith 
.)nd honor of the nation were pledged. If Congress 
erected no monument to Washington, it would be no 
fault of his ; he would go as far as any gentleman m 
obtaining it. There was a law of the old Congress 
directing a monument to Montgon-.ery in the city of 
New York ; it had been neglected by the nation ; but 
the State of New York, to its lasting credit, had per- 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 57 

formed tluit; duty itself, and in the course of last year 
removed the boues of the immuital Moiiti^omery from 
tlie spot where he fell to the laud which lie had so 
gloriously defended. Propositions had frequently 
been brought forward in the House to erect a memo- 
rial of some kind to Washington, but for some rea- 
son or other, they were never carried. It had been 
said, the pages of history perpetuated the glory of 
AVashington ; but was not a monument also a history 
in which every one might read not only the virtues of 
the man, but also the gratitude of the country '' 

The question to lay Mr. Reed's motion on the 
table was carried by 7() yeas against 42 nays, and until 
recently, the pledge of an early Congress to do a 
patriotic act remained a dead-letter on the statute 
book. When all over the land the benign face of 
AVashington smiled on his countrymen ; when column, 
marble and bronze perpetuated his features, then the 
heroic Baron was remembered, s<> after all, Republics 
are not u.ngrateful. 

The first of February, 1819, Mr. Reed, in the 
House, delivered a long and vigorous speech on the 
Seminole war. It occupies thirteen columns in the 
^'Annals of Congress." No one can read that speech 
and deny to Mr. Reed the grace of ornate sentence- 
making, lucidity of statement and fervor of rhetoric. 
He declined to support a resolution of approval of the 
act of General Jackson for having executed Arburth- 
not and Ambuerst. 



58 GP.M.-.RAL PHHJP REED. 

In October, 1820, Reed contested with Jeremiah 
Cousden, the seat in Congress from the Sixth Mary- 
land District, composed of tlie connties of Harford, 
Cecil and Kent. The retnrns of the election made to 
the Governor and conncil, gave each an eqnal number 
of votes, neither having, "the greatest number of 
votes." The Governor and council awarded the seat 
to Cousden by one vote, who presented his credentiaLs 
to the House and was sworii in. Reed contested the 
election. He was successful, the House determining 
that the Governor and council conld not elect a 
member. 

During the contest, on motion of Mr. Sloane, INfr. 
Reed was permitted to appear within the bar and l)e 
heard. Cousden being temporarily seated, had the 
privileges of the floor. Both of them spoke for hours, 
when by a final vote of 82 to 74 Reed was sworn in. 

He thus explains why he did not vote on an im- 
portant question, in a note to the Speaker of the House, 
dated BOth March, 1822 : '' Severe indisposition pre- 
vented me fi'om attending the House on Thursday and 
recording my vote in favor of the Independence of the 
South American governments ; the same cause pre- 
vented me fi'om attending the Honse yestei-day ; nor 
was it until the hour of adjournment that I was in- 
formed that the members who were absent when tlie 
above vote was taken, were yesterda}" permitted l)y 
universal consent, to have their votes entered upon 
the Journal. Thus circumstanced 1 shall feel highly 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. [jC) 

honored by the House, il' they will permit my name to 
be recorded in the aifii-mative on that question, by 
plncing it with the yeas; or, if that cannot l)e done, 
l)y ])lacing this letter on the Journal/' 

The Congressional caieerof oui' soldier-statesman 
has enough in it to show that he was a capal)le public 
servant, and that he iutelligentlj/^ and faithfully dis- 
charged his constitutional duties to his constituents. 
As a specimen of his oratory the following extract 
does him honor: " There are two wavs by which a 
government may be overthrown ; one by too much 
tone, the othei- by t(.o much debility. We are told, 
however, that this country has nothiug to fear from 
oui' military commanders. This, sir, is the language 
which has been repeated in all countries. If, when 
C«Bsar was carrying on his wars against Britain, the 
question had been asked at Rome, whether Cffisar 
Avould overturn the liberties of his country, the answer 
would have been (with tlie exception of Cato) no ; 
C;esar is the friend of his country. Had it been asked 
of an Englishman, whether Cromwell would liave 
turned the Parliament out of doors and trampled 
under foot the liberties of his country, the answer no 
doubt would have been, Cromwell is the friend of lil)- 
erty. Had a Frenchman been asked whethei- the 
saint who now^ sits upon the rock of St. Helena, would 
turn tlie French Deputies out of doors at the point of 
the bayonet, the answer would have been no, Bona- 
parte is the friend of liberty."" 



^ (^Q GENERAL PHliJP REElJ. 

At the expiration of his Congressional term, he 
ceased forever to be prominently connected with pnb- 
lic affairs. His last days were saddened by financial 
reverses through which nnfalteringly the confidence 
of the public sought to cheer and comfort him. 

No one snrvives who can recall him to us as he 
appeared in life. He was in presence and manners a 
o-entleman. He wore the conventional dress similar to 
that worn by Washington ; a ruffled shirt-bosom and 
a coat with a high collar. Tb.omas Vickers, who was 
a member of Usilton's artillery, spoke of him to the 
members of his family "as a noble man, a courageous 
man, who was not so large, either.'^ He was an orig- 
inal member of the Society of the Cincinnatti of Mary- 
land ; a vice-president of it, elected in 1828. His 
grand-son, Philip George Reed, in 1800, was made one 
of its secretaries. 

General Reed twice married ; he was buried by 
the side of his first wife in I. U. Parish Church. She 
was a Miss Hosanah Medford. The inscription on 
her tombstone tells all we can glean of her history. 
The General wrote it. It is a tender tribute to her 
virtues, and reads: "Sacred to the memory of Hos- 
anah Reed, daughter of George and Beatrice Reed 
Medford, and wife of Philip Reed, who departed this 
life on Wednesday, 10th Mai'ch, 1802, aged 29 years, 
months and f) days, leaving two young sons, Philip 
and George. She was an affectionate wife, a tender 
mother, a sincere friend and a good neighbour. She 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 61 

sustained a long and painl'nl illness with Christian 
patience and resignation. A fall from his carriage, by 
which his leg was fractured, deprived her affectionate 
husband of the power of paying her that unremitting 
attention to which her merits and virtues fully entitle 
her. This monumental stone is dedicated to her re- 
spected memory by him." " The end of the upright is 

peace." 

One of the aforementioned children, George, died 
in the early years of his boyhood. His second wife 
was a Miss Mary Medford ; she is buried in proximity 
to his grave, which place is marked by tombstones. 
By her he had two children, George Clinton Reed and 

Elizabeth Reed. 

During the year 1828, the United Sates govern- 
ment granted to the hero a pension for services in the 
Revolution ; it was of little avail ; it came to him too 
late. He who in early life had been high sheriff of 
Kent county from 1702 to 1795, was to receive a sum- 
mons from the Great High Sheriff of all the w^orlds in 
universal space to appear in His presence. 

An unusual solemnity overshadowed Hunting- 
field, the 2d of November, 1829 ; on that Monday, in 
the autumn of that year ; in the autumn of his life, 
Philip Reed, 69 years of age, departed for the invisi- 
ble world, and thereafter to this sphere ceased to be 
more than a memory ; a sweet, pure memory, fragrant 
and precious. Autumn was in its ripe, rich splendor, 
and spread around the warrior its mantle of yellow 



Q2 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

leaves. Heaven's gates were thrown open for the ad- 
mission of one who was on earth a confessor of the 
true faith, to he received by tlie Master in His Princely 
Halls of Peace. 

May it not be asked, what palliation can l)e made 
for the long interval of neglect which permitted sev- 
enty-three years to choke with noxious growth the 
unmarked, unattended grave of the hero of this battle 
field 'i Why has been permitted the heroisnj of the 
men who followed their leader into the conflict, in the 
moonlight, to lapse almost from their memory;; Let 
that departed generation between us and the dead 
soldier, lie in graves unharmed by such inquiries. It 
might have saved for us narratives, but it did not ; it 
might have given the monuments we hnve reni'ed in 
an era when existing circumstances could have l)een 
recalled, but it did not. We have gathered together the 
crumbs of history from wherever found and placed 
them on the feast table of this day, and we have in- 
vited you to be seated, and to eat of the good food 
X)i'epared for tlie eurichment of your intellects and 
patriotism. 

And pray, what ought I to say of ourselves, who 
liave merely performed a duty, who have made tliis a 
monumental, gala day ; Avho have redeemed the grave 
and crowned it with the friendly granite, who shall 
henceforth command all who pass this way to halt by 
yon stone and read what we have written u^jon it in or- 
der that henceforth they shall not foi'^-et "tliat here is 



GKNEkAl. I'HIIJP REED. 03 

valor's shrine and consecrated sod ;" that here Amer- 
ican patriots wrote in Mood wliicdi they cansed their 
assailants to shed the credentials of their own imnior- 

talitv ? 

May I not salnte yon i It was a landable act of 
generous patriotism foi- the owner of this blood-be- 
sprinkled field, to yrant the space on which the mon- 
umental stone stands, for its uplifting. I salute her 
in your names and in the names of the people whose 
tread will shortly be heard coming to this scene to read 
and commune with its past. I salute you, my com- 
rades of the committee, for what our eyes are permit- 
ted to behold on this proud, heaven-born and conse- 
<:;rated day. I salute all who are here present ; those 
who have come from the city across the bay, leaving 
behind them its spires and monuments, and those from 
the neighborhood around, you have brought General 
Reed from the obscurity of hanging shadows and re- 
concentrated upon him the loving gaze of the nation. 
And I salute the Republic, rich in heroes and heri- 
tages ; in swords and pens, in flags and cannon, in 
hearts of love and in minds of remembrance, worthy 
to be what it has grown, nurtured by servants conse- 
crated to its service. 

Hark ! hear you not the blast of an approaching 
herald, proclaiming to the ages in their appearing, 
behold the matchless jewels Columbia has in her sons ; 
and do you not see them, and can younotlx-hohl him 
whom we have eulogized, among the great nund)er of 



(^4 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

the immortal army of the clouds >. On their brows are 
fadeless leaves which need no renewing- ; the breath 
of decay is not there ; life, eternal life, is the halo of 
their glory, the arch of their splendor. Hear ye not 
the herald again as he speaks ! they shall be kept in 
everlasting remembrance. At those words millions of 
people who have sprung into existence send up a shout 
which shakes the dome oL' the sky, and earth and 
heaven sing in united chorus, "they are ours ; they are 
imperishable ; the air they breathe is a living breatli 
and they can never die. They are our national gods; 
we have placed them in niches of fame and over them 
is the shield of the Republic, blazing in glorious efful- 
gence and having on it in flaming letters, Esto Per- 



GENERAi. t'HlLlP REED. 65 



ADDRESS BY DR. ALBERT KIMBERLY HADEL. 



Dr. Albert Kimberly Hadel, of Baltiniore, repre- 
senting the Maryland Society of the War of 1812, in 
the city of Baltimore, in the absence of its president, 
John M. Dulaney, spoke as follows : 

Patriotic Ladies and Gentlemen of the Old 
Commonwealth : — I am before yon to-day to bring 
you fraternal greetings from the Society of the War 
of 1812 in Maryland, and from the General Society. 
We desire to congratulate you upon the work wdiich 
is completed to-day — work which is specially ours, 
that of marking historic spots in our beloved State and 
in celebrating events which record a glorious history. 

In marking the grave of General Philip Reed and 
Caulk' s Field you have honored yourselves, for while 
the contest which took place here was not a great bat- 
tle in point of number, it showed to the enemy the 
character of our people ; it show^ed to the world that, 
in the veins of the participants still ran the blood of 
the Revolution ; it show^ed that Marj^land could not 
be invaded with impunity, even by the most pow- 
erful nation on earth. But it is not my purpose to go 
into the details of the event which you commemorate 
to-day, after the splendid and exhaustive address of 
our patriotic comrade, William M. Marine. 



GENERAL 1*1 1 1 LI 1' REElJ. 



This act oi' defence, siiuill in comparison with 
others which histor}^ records, yet potential in shaping 
the ])olicy of defence which had to be developed rap- 
idly in the War of 1812, as was Lexington and Con- 
cord in the first war for Index:)endence. 

The history of events which led up to our Revo- 
lution is, or ought to be known to every school boy. It 
is known that for more than a hundred years our fath- 
ers bore with great patience born of English Christian- 
ity, the humiliation of being governed by weak-minded 
tyrants who by the accidents of birth became the 
rulers of the mother country. 

So patient w^ere our fathers that even in the Con- 
gress of 1775 it was not the jjrevailing sentiment of the 
delegates to dissolve the relations between mother and 
child, so great was their love for the land which had 
been the home of their ancestor's, and it was not until 
the doors of the British Ministry were closed in the 
face of Benjamin Franklin and his appeal to Parlia- 
ment returned with insult, that he turned his face to- 
ward his beloved country to report that hope for jus- 
tice must be abandoned — that his peoi)le must prepare 
for war. 

When the last act was passed which severed mor- 
ally their relations with Great Britain, a storm of in- 
dignation swept throughout the Kingdom. The great 
mass of the people sympathized with us in our strug- 
gle for justice. William Pitt in and out of Parlia- 
ment declared the acts of the ministers towards us were 
not only iniust but inhuman. 

Admiral Kex)pel said at his club one night that 
rather than light against the American Colonists he 
would resign. He was willing to fight against French- 



GENERAl, I'lllLll' KEKI). (57 

men and Spaninids. ])ut ngainst their American 
brother, never. 

After the ii_<2,ht at Lexiiiii^ton and Concord the City 
Recorder of London api)eared in monrning; being 
asked whom he had lost, lie said: " My brothers in 
America Avhom yon have mnrdered." 

Lord Chatham, whose son was serving in the army 
in Canada reqnested that son to resign from the service 
immediately npon being ordered to follow his regi- 
ment to America. 

Granville Sharp, chief of ordinance in tlie war 
office, refnsed to attend to routine work incident to 
the sending of tr()oi)S to the Colonies. 

Lord Effingham, npon receiving orders to sail with 
his regiment for service in America, took off his nni- 
form and sent his resgination to the war office. 

Even the King's own brother, the Dtike of Clar- 
ence, asked and received a leave of absence to travel 
abroad that he might be freed from the hateful influ- 
ences of Lord North, who dominated the court of his 
brother, and it was at Metz, in France, that the gal- 
lant Lafayette heard from his lips the story of our 
trials, and it was that inforniation which gave him the 
inspiration whi(;h prompted him to leave his dear 
France which was then trembling before the shock of 
her own Revolution, to become a friend of our cause 
and a chosen comx)anion of our beloved Washington. 

The cry was heard in every part of England, 
"Down with the ministers," but George III dare not 
remove them, to come before the people, for an en- 
dorsement meant defeat, and it was with a sad heart 
that the people saw their friends and relatives sail 
away never to return, but to find graves in a hostile 



63 GENERAL PHILIP REEL. 

land, sleeping in unmarked places 'til the final hour 
when the trump shall sound which will awake tlieni to 
that other life man has dreamed of since the creation. 
Regiment after i-egiment x^assed over the ocean to 
fight to death their kindred, but no human had the 
power to stay that cruel king. The destiny of that 
hated Tudor race was ordained but not yet written, 
yet it was the innocent men of his kingdom who would 
write that history in their blood. 

It was also the hour of trial for tlie Anglo-Saxon 
race, for it was at this time, through destruction of 
life and property that the highest conception of human 
government was to be made manifest by eight years 
of a bloody struggle which ended in 1781 at York- 
town. A treaty of peace was signed in Paris in 1783, 
but what that generation of Englishmen were forced 
by circumstances to agree to was to be violated by 
another. Indeed, the document signed was but a ces- 
sation of hostilities, for our old enemy never for a 
moment relinquished her intention to again become 
our political and commercial master, and never for a 
moment were we free from insults to our national be- 
ing, the great northwestern frontier being daily the 
scene of murders of our people by the English and 
their allies — and remember that for 29 years our fath- 
ers suffered their trials, and again in 1812 found them- 
selves at war with their relentless enemy, and mark 
you, with the same spirit of indignation manifest in 
our English cousins, and this feeling pervading every 
avenue, political, social and commercial, in Great 
Britain. The Duke of Wellington, it is said, refused 
to command the army of invasion, but strong as this 
sentiment was, nothiuii- could influence George IV- 



■ GENEKAl. rtllLH' KEEU. 69 

Destiny liad marked out another victim ; anotlier 
Tndor was on the throne, more bloody sacrilices were 
demanded. George lY had learned nothing from the 
failures of George III, and while our fathers fought 
noblv and won many victories. North Point and 
Plattsbnrg being the most influential and notable, for 
the battle of New Orleans was fought after a treaty of 
peace had been agreed upon, but we must thank the 
disturbed i)o]itical condition of Euroj^e for the x^t'ace 
which came in January, 1815, for that ambitious 
tyrant, Bonaparte, was on horseback and had arrayed 
himself against the allied powers. We are, however, 
confronted by the fact that witliout pandering to the 
Anglo-American fanatic, we owe much to our English 
blood with its combination of Gallic, Roman and 
Saxon Norman, and to Englishmen do we owe the full 
fruition of our struggle for absolute independence. 

Hands across the sea in 1902 are welcome as kin- 
dred, for it was the hands and hearts which came 
across the sea in 1776 and 1812 which gave us sub- 
stantial aid, which enabled us to make so bold an 
armed resistance. Finances which came to ns from 
our British friends and relatives not only helped us to 
buy arms but to bear them, for it is a well-known fact, 
thousands of British subjects enrolled themselves in 
our army in both of the two Wars for Independence, 
and fought gallantly beside our native-born Ameri- 
cans, and at greater risk, for capture meant death. 

The work of to-day is to mark an historic place 
and to x>ay a tribute to the men who on this battle- 
field maintained the honor of our dear Commonwealth 
and the nation, and ennobled American manhood. 
Shoulder to shoulder stood the children of tlie Round- 



70 GENERAL PHILIP REEL. 

head, the Cavalier and the Hnguenot, whose fathers 
had not breathed the air of our free land without giv- 
ing to tlieir manhood a higher aspiration and a nobler 
cause to defend. Freedom here had a sweeter sound, 
for it was the full realization of man's desire to gov- 
ern himself, and, like the champions of old, they were 
willing to die that freedom might survive. 

To the men of the Revolution w^e owe the concep- 
tion of our government, and no monuments or tablets 
will pay the debt But it was the War of 1812 which 
assured to us that for which the Revolution was inau- 
gurated but which it did not attain, and in the evolu- 
tion of things it has come to pass that the child of a 
cruel parent has outgrown itself, that the feeble re- 
sults of the Revolution have become the most })ower- 
ful factor in the family of nations. Our influence upon 
the moral and })liysical forces of the world have been 
so stimulating that even our most optimistic citizens 
are amazed, and this has not been the result of war 
but the victories of peace and industry. Our fathers 
waged w^ar for the establishment of free institntions, 
but we have waged the war of peace and fellowship 
that these institutions might survive all things, that 
our dear land might continue to the end of time as the 
haven of the oppressed of all nations. When we pro- 
claim to the world our superiority in all things it is 
no idle boast, for it is proved by fact and now ac- 
knowledged by all, that our supremacy is unrivaled, 
our moral and physical forces incalculable and results 
in a manhood of such su])eriority as to be the marvel 
of human construction. Show me a nation which 
stands alone as on rs does, absolute!}^ independent of 
the world, free of foreign complication, self-depen- 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 71 

dent, with a wealth of agiicultuie, mineral, manufac- 
ture and commerce rapidly chasing- the other nations 
over the map of the universe, and with an activity 
which startles even our wisest statesmen and almost at 
a leap becomes the financial center of the world. 

With the early future conies a magnificent navy 
to carry our proud banner to the ends of the earth, 
and when necessary a mighty army of defence. 
Through the wisdom of our law-makers w^e shall be- 
come the conquerors of the world, for its Americani- 
zation has begun, and it is not a vanity of the 2()th 
century, for the greatest achievement of the years has 
been the rapid rise of a new race of i»eople, now per- 
fectly distinct, and shall be known in all times as 
^'Americans r yet, with a just i)ride and true esti- 
mate of the value of those qualities which come to ns 
from those who came from '' Merry England,'' the land 
of their birth and of Alfred the Great, Cromwell, Mil- 
ton, Shakespeare, Scott and Burns. 

As we ascend to the height of power and prosper- 
ity, and claim the undisputed right to stand at the 
head of the English speaking nations, it is with the 
promise to the nations still lying in the darkness of 
past ages, that we stand for peace, not war ; life, not 
death ; prosperity, not destruction ; freedom for all 
and a fuller enjoyment of the blessings of citizenship. 
The right hand of fellowship will destroy that of 
plunder, and in the end our influences for good will 
be our desideratum and by our rectitude we will erect 
a monument to christian civilization. 

This, fellow-countrymen, I ])elieve t(. 1)e our 

destiny. 

DR. ALBERT KIMBERLY HADEL. 



72 GENEKAi. PHILIP REEl.. 

The swoid ul" (Teiieral Reed, now in possession 
of Dr. Thomas B. Willson, to whose fatlier General 
Reed gave it, was in evidence, and was placed upri,G,'lit 
against the markei-. A gun rdaimed to be the one 
wliicdi shot Captain Parker, with powder horn, lar on 
the table njjon the stand. 

One of the most interesting events of the occasion 
was the x)l'^it'ing of a large wreath of green leaves on 
the marker by Mrs. Thomas Hill, whicli took place 
at its nnveiling. The British flag used was furnished 
by a steamer of that nationality, whose name cannot 
be stated. Six steamers competed for the honor of 
furnishing a flag of England for the occasion. The 
choice was decided by lot. The American Hag was 
furnished by the Chester River Steamboat Company. 



GENERAL FHILII' REFD. 7 



'> 



The Grave-Stone Unveiled* 



IVtweeii four and five hundred citizens ol* Kent 
county. ACaryland, participated in the ceremonies oi' 
unveiling tlie monumental slab which had been placed 
over the grave of General Philip Reed in the ceme- 
tery at Christ Church, Parish of I. T., Kent county, 
Md., Diocese of Easton, on Sunday, October 26, 1902, 
at three o'clock i'. M. 

The day was cheerless and bleak, yet there was 
no dampening of the patriotic ardor of those 
who had assembled to honor their hero. Nearly 
every section of the county contributed its quota of 
representative citizens, and the exercises were marked 
by a dignity and simplicity in perfect harmony with 
the charactei- of the great Kent countian whose his- 
tory was being perpetuated in appropriately-marked 
granite. The picturesque beauty of the country 
church-yard gave added impressiveness to the appro- 
priate ceremonies which were being carried out. 

The slab is a solid granite block, six feet long, 
three feet wide, one foot thick, and lies tlat upon the 
grave. On this occasion it was surrounded by potted 
plants and cut flowers— a large wreath of green leaves 
crowned its surface, and a neat staif upon which to 
hoist the flag with whicli it was veiled, stood grace- 
fully at its head. 



Inscription on the Slab* 



GENERAL PHILIP REED, 

A SOLBTET. OF THE ReVOLFTIOiS^ AND 

THE War of 1812, 
Heko of 

CAULK'S FIELD, 

United States Senatoh 

and Member of the 

House ov Repkesentatiyes. 
Born 1760. Died 1829. 



GENERAL PHILIP REED. 7.0 

A uuniber of iiatioiml and dtlier livmns formed a 
stirring featnrf^ oi" the unveiling service : every indi- 
vidual in the tlirong joined in them. The singing was 
led by an organ, at which Miss Olivia AVilkius pre- 
sided, and by a quartet of brass instruments in the 
hands of Prof. John Cannan, Foster Cannan, Benja- 
min Greenwood and Roland Matthews, under the able 
direction of Mr. Walter W. Chaiunan. A choir com- 
posed of Mrs. C. T. Denroche, Mrs. Alwyn X. Stavely, 
Mrs. Allan Harris, Mr. and Mrs. G. Wright Nicols ; 
Misses Hellen Wilkins, Isabel Beck, Hallie Westcott, 
Wheeler Peterson, Xellie Valliant. Lilian Greenwood, 
Erie Grimes, Elizabeth Pennington ; Prof. L. Harris 
Crewe. Nesbitt Trenchard, Thomas W. Perkins, Prof. 
Edw. J. Clarke, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Lamb and others, 
gave the multitude substantial aid in every offering of 
prayer and ])raise in song. 

The ceremonies were devoutly opened, "In the 
Xame of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost, Amen." and followed by the hymn, "Our 
Father's God, to Thee." 

An address was then delivered by the Rev. Chris. 
T. Denroche. Rector of St. PauFs and I. U. Parishes, 
after which the stone was fornmlly unveiled in re- 
sxK)nse to his following words : 

" It is now my happy duty, uf which I am hon- 
estly proud, to respectfully request and direct that 
the grave stone be now unveiled."' 

Immediately, Miss Elizabeth Anna Nicols, only 
dauahter of Mr. and Mrs. Harrv Nicols, of Worton, 
Md., and a great-grand niece of General Reed's wife, 
removed the handsome American flag from the pol- 
ished and engraved face of the massive granite slab. 



7fi GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

and laid it at the Lx)ot of the staff iu gmceful fokls. 

The Rector then gave voice to tlie following beau- 
tiful sentence, well adapted to the solemn heart-feel- 
ing which such an event inspired : 

" In honor of the man who lies beneath this stone, 
and in order that the flag, which he, our heroic gen- 
eral, loved so well during his life, shall wave over his 
remains, we now hoist 'Old Glory.' " 

At these words, Mr. Edward W. Hepbron, a ves- 
tryman of I. U. Parish, slowly hoisted the General's 
loved flag, and as it floated gloriously in a stiff breeze 
the congregation, in loyal devotion, burst grandly 
into hymn 197, " O, Lord of Hosts ! Almighty King," 
" Singing and making melody in their heai'ts to the 
Lord." 

While this hymn was being sung, Mrs. Thomas 
Hill placed a delicate tracery of smilax over the face 
of the stone. Mr. Denroche then said : 

"We proceed now to Bless and Dedicate this 
memorial slab : — 

" In the name of the Father and of the Holy 
Ghost. Amen. 

"We, Christopher Thomas Deni'oche, Priest, 
Rector of the parishes of St. Paul's and I. U., Kent 
county, Md., in the presence of the vestrymen of I. 
U. and of the congregation here assembled, do solemn- 
ly Bless and Dedicate this grave and grave-stone, to 
the glory of God, and to the pious memory of General 
Philip Reed, who was a soldier of the Revolution and 
of the War of 1812, Hero of Caulk' s Field, Kent 
county, Md., United States Senator, member of the 
House of Representatives and sometime a member and 
vestryman of the parish. 



CiENEkAl. rmiJl' KEFA). 77 

"Given at Clirisr Cliiiicli, in the Parisli ul I. U., 
ill rhellth year of our rectorate on the 26tli day ol' 
October, beino- the 22nd Sunday after Trinity, in tlie 
3' ear of our Lord, 1902." 

The Lord's prayer and a select collect from the 
burial service were then used. Softly and with deep 
feeling, the choir and people sang the lovely hymns 
of faith, ^'Asleep in Jesus,'' '' Lead, Kindly Light," 
and ^' Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow." 
The benediction was then given, and the people were 
dismissed, edified and instructed, happy and satis- 
fied, havinii- (hme well-merited honor to a brave hero, 
and iio})le Christian of tlieii' county and State. 



78 GENKKAI. I'llll.ll' kKI-;i;'. 



ADDRESS OF REV. CHRIS. T. DENROCHE. 



To riiK I>A iKJK-HKA i;'ii:i) ( 'iii/.kns oi Kknt 
County. (tIiektin(; : 

As a represfATitativc body oi" loyal Aineiicans. you 
now srand ai-oinid (lie iiiojiurriPnt uliicli lias bcon 
placed o\<M- the Insl call lily icstiiii;' i»la<-c of m Cluis- 
tiaii Hero of oiii- comity and Stale. 

Lists ol' tlie nairips of rlic siihsciihtMs to this 
stone, and to tliarol" llie Battle-inarkei' at Caiilk's 
Field, liavebeen placed in flieii- roiindat ions, cetiieiiled 
in i-ecepta,(des pi-ej^ariMl for their i)i-esei'vatioii. 

I^>eneaMi this stone inenioiial slab of granite are 
the remains of (ieneral Philij) Reed. 

It is well-known tliat a lovin;.;' desire to honor rhc 
memory of Genei-al Philip Heed, by erecting a monu- 
ment over his grave, has strongly i)ervaded the miiids 
and hearts of the nienibeis of 1. ('. congi-egaiioii, and 
of jriany other citizens of our coiinry. Tor yeai-s ; ])ut 
I hat owing to delicate and a[)i)arently insurinountable 
considerations they have been unable to bring their 
loving desii-es to any ju-actical issue. 

Within the last few years circumstaiic^es have 
altered, and have justified practical action in the mat- 
ter, and have allowed you to bi-ing to completion the 
previously hampered and loving desires ol' yoiii- wor- 
thy and loval hearts. 



(;i-:nI'.kai. iiiii.ii' i<i;i',i). 






llHil IIh'sc l-ii;li (coiis (Ic.sil'cs, ;i iikkIcsI (||(MI;j,Ii 
siil»sl;i!il i;i I i;i;iiiiie tomh-sfoiiH, wliicli \\r li;i\(', (his 
<l:iy. tlic (listiii<;iiislip(l liKtior (<» iiti\t'il niid (IndicatH, 
lias IxMMi plnced over our hero's ii,i'av(\ 

'IMiis ha})})}' consunimatioii of oiii- object has l)eHii 
anived at in the following- niaiiiier : 

111 !<S',>2 if was my pi'ivilege to be el('(;t(Ml I'ectoi-oi' 
Si. PaiiTs and 1. U. Parishe.s, Kent county, Md. In 
I. LI. Parish the stoi'j of (Teneral Phili]) Keed soon 
caiix^ t«i my ears, with the infoi-mation that his re- 
mains had hiid in the l)iirial ground hf^re i'oi' some 
seventy yeai's in an iinmai'ked grave. At that titne — 
as none ol' the I'oi-mei' difficulties opposed themsel\es 
— I coiisulted the leading members of the congi'ega- 
tion a s to t he propriety of having a memorial stone pro- 
<'ured lo mark the spot for future liciiei-ations. This 
idea recei\('(I iin(|iialified a])proval. The matter was 
then ])roiight before business men genei-ally. Mi". 
Charles (^ox IToppei', of Chestertown ; Caiitain Colum- 
bus A. Leary, of Edesville, and ('olonel William M. 
Maiine, of P>altimore, were my fii-st piactical advisei's. 
AJanv others seconded tlieii' valuaJjle snugestions. 
Subsequently, an infoi-mal meeting was held at the 
{ 'hestei'town " T]ans<-ri[)t '" iievvs])aper (jffi(;e. It was 
tlieie resolved that this icdigious object should be at 
<)nc<% aji<l actively, put before the whole pn))lic. 

In oi'dei' to fiirtlun- this i-esoliition, a (ujmmittee 
was formed, wlii(di edited /)()() pamphlets setting I'ortli 
the [uominenr features of (Teneial Heed's cliai'acter 
and histfdy. A copy of it was mailed to every one 
who might j)ossibly })e interested. 

From this iiani})lilet i now give you an inslj-iictive 
extract : 



^0 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

" He was a oallaiit soldier of tlie Mar viand Line 
in the Revolutionary War, and particularly distin- 
guislied himself in the attack on Stoney Point on the 
Hudson, July 16th, 1779. 

" He was prominent in the War of 1812, and 
commanded the troops which won a signal victory over 
the enemy at Caulk' s Field, Kent county, Md., in 
1814. 

" He distinguished himself for years as a leading- 
spirit in the United States Senate and House. 

" He was an estimable citizen and Church nieml)er, 
and acted as vestryman in the Parish of I. U., Kent 
county, Md., for a lengthened pei'iod. 

"Inscriptions on his wives' tombstones in T. U. 
graveyard j)rove him to liave been a loving husband 
and father. 

" On January 23d, 1819, lie introduced a resolu- 
tion in Congress to build a monument to Crenej-al De- 
Kalb, and thus became fathei' to the movement which 
in 1886, placed a monument beside the State House :ir 
Annapolis, Md., in grateful and historic menioi y of 
that dead hero: 

" But, sad to say, this old hero of Marylaml mili- 
tary fame ; this consjucuous worker in the Legislative 
halls of oui- country ; this admirable citizen, humble 
Christian, loving father and husband ; this good man 
Avho erected grave-stones to memorialize the virtues of 
liis wives, and was the piinje movei' in building a 
monument to the memorv of one ol' Marvland's dead 
heroes; this man (another dead Maryland heio), whose 
character and historv so deservedlv demand memor- 
ializing, has laid tn an t^nmarked guavk for <)\k\i 

SEVEIS^TY YEAP.S. 



GENERAL PlllLll' KEElX 81 

"•There is not, at tiiis time, one living near lela- 
ri(.n to raise a memorial stone at bis grave. It, there- 
foi'e. devolves upon a grateful people to have one 

])la('e(l theie. 

"While advocating, in the ir^th Congress, the 
building of a monument to the memory of General 
DeKalb, General Reed used the following language: 
' It has been said that, ' The /^a^-e of hUtory has per- 
l)etuated the glory of Washington, but is not a inon- 
nvieiif (I Jii story in stone, on which every one may 
re. id, not only the r/lory of the man, but also the 
yrotitiifie of lit s eemntry: 

"•In the army, in the United States Senate and 
House, and in private life. General Reed's character 
was of conspicuous courage, faithful diligence, and 
nnsweiviug loyalty." 

GENERAL PHILIP REED'S RECORD AS A 

PUBLIC MAN. 

A.^ a <sv>/r//^^r— Commissioned. Lieutenant in the 
3rd. Regiment ot* the Maryland line, on October 13, 
1778, and served bravely throughout the whole War of 
the Revolution. He commanded the militia in 1814 
which repelled the British at Caulk' s Field, Kent 
County. Md., and was then made Brigadier General 
of the' Maryland Militia. In 1828 he was pensioned 
for iiis valuable services during the Revolution, but 
died on November 2, 1829, at Huntinglield, Kent 
county, Md., his pension being of little use to him. 

''In the U. aS'. Senate— Yi^i was a United States 
Senator from 1806 to 1807 (one year) having been 
elected as successor to the Hon. Robert AVright, who 



p,(^ GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

resigned to become Governor of liis State. In ISO? he 
was re-elected to the Senate for the fiilP term of six 
years till 1813, thus holding his senatorship tor seven 

years. 

"His colleague all through his senatorial services 
was General Samuel Smith, of Baltimore, the hero of 
Fort iNIililin. 

In the House — He served during the l^th Con- 
gress, from December, 1817, to March, 1839 ; and in 
the 17th Congress from March 20tli, 1822, to March 

3, 1823. 

"Tu 1818-10, he was an influential n;embei' of the 
committee ou military nifni]-s. liended by Richaid M. 
Johnson, of Kentucky." 

My Dear Fkiends and Fkllow-Citizkxs :— The 
purpose of our meeting on this Sunday :ind in this 
cemetery of the Parish of I. U., in the county of Kent, 
Md., and in the Diocese of Easton, is to unveil and 
to dedicat*^ a mouumentnl grave stoup to tlie (iloi-y of 
God, and in lioiioi :ii»1h nie-niory of (i^ncral l*iiili[) 
Heed, a noble hero of our Slalc and county. 

In honoring tliedead, we are executing a stiictly 
reliirious duty well worth v of performance on this 
venerable, holy day. 

As the subject matter of this a<ldi-ess invol\(>s 
secuiai- considei'ations in its i-eiigicus as])ect, 1 desil■<^ 
with apology to you, indulgence in selecting a text, 
not from the Bible, but from the works of the immor- 
tal Shakespeare, and though a text is usually aii- 
nounced at the beginning of a sermon, I hope you will 
forgive me for announcing it in this place. 

My text will be foun<l in the opening sentence of 



genp:ral I'M I lip keeu. 8;-} 

Mark Antony's oiation over the dead body o! Julins 
Csesar : 

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your 
ears; I come to bury Cajsar, not to praise him; the 
evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft in- 
teired wirli their bones, so let it be with Caesar." 

Close to the base of Pompey's statue, at the ca})- 
itol, in the ancient city of Rome, lay the dead body 
of the '^Mighty Caesar," deformed with wounds and 
weltering- in his gore. He had been assassinated by 
conspirators. Brutus, one of the conspirators, cried 
out. as nl1 st()()<l around the body : ''Stoop, Romans, 
stoop, and let us bathe our hands in C;esar's blood up 
to lli<- elbows, and besmear our swords ; then walk we 
forth, even to the mai'ket-place.." 

To this scene of blood and death came Mark An- 
ton v, well-niuh hen It broken by the assassination 
of his foiuUy-loved and dearest friend. He came in 
feai- nii<l trembling, but not until the conspirators had 
UIUIhiiiI'mmI |(. liim. by mes.sage. the safety oC his life. 
At ihesi.uhl of I he (lead an<l mutihited Ixxly of his 
I'liend. :iii<l ill the extremity of his giief, he begged 
the coiisiiirnlors to shiy him also: 

"Live a tliousaiid years," said he to theiii, 
"I sliall not find nnself so apt to die ; 
No place will i^lease me so, no mean of death, 
As here by Ccesar, and In- yon cnt ot^V 

Tlie conspirators refused Mark Antony his 
liegged-Tor boon of death. Instead of killing liini, 
tliey requested him to convey the dead Ca?sar to the 
maiket-place — the public Fornm — and there to make 
an oration to the people over the body. 



<^4 GEN'l'.RAl. PHILIP KKPJJ. 

The conspinitoi'S tlieiihselves at once repaired to 
the Forum, and placed Brutus iu the "public, cliair" 
or "pulpit,'" to address the people. In his oration, 
Brutus extolled some of Caesar's good qualities fairly 
enough, but he laid so great emphasis on the sup- 
posed giant quality of his ambition as to grossly insin- 
uate that the evil which would have followed it would 
have lived after him forever ; and that the good wliich 
he had done was so dwarfed in comparison, that it 
would be interred with his bones and be heai'd (d' 
nevermore. 

As Brutus was about to close his oration, Antony 
came into the Forum with Caesar's dead body. Brutus 
retired and Mark Autouy wasi)laced in the pulpit to 
sj)eak to the people. , AVe have to notice carefully the 
temper of Antony's audience. It was composed of 
men who had been swayed, by the oratory of Brutus, 
to a favorable consideration of the assassination. 
Antony w^as, therefore, ol)liged to exer(;ise caution in 
his speech. He, therefore, with admirable di})lomacy, 
opened his address by apparently agreeing with the 
sentiments which had been expressed by Biiitus, and 
gave diplomatic utterance to these words : 

" Friends, Romans, Countrymen, leiul me your ears ; 
1 come to l)ury Ctesar, not to praise liim ; 
The evil which men do, lives after them, 
The good is oft interred with then- hones. 

So let it be with C:esar. " 

On the subject-matter on which it is my privilege 
to deliver an address to you at this time, there is no 
necessity for any — the least — di])lomacy ; nor do I 
need in this case to exercise caution in my speech. I 



ui':N'l';KAL iMKlJi' KEEIJ. 8f) 

desiie to speak in the utmost siiu'erity, and fioni a 
thoroughly open heart. 

The words which 1 am about to say to you now 
aie ))ut a paraphrase of the words used by Mark An- 
tony over CfBsar's body. They are words whicli, I 
know, will tind a responsive— truthful— and loving, 
appreciative echo in youi- own loyal, loving and true 

hearts. 

Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your 
ears ; I come, not to bury General Philip Reed, but to 
praise him ; the evil which he did does not live after 
him ; the good is not interred with his bones. So it 
is with General Philip Reed. 

It will be, in November, 1902, seventy-three years 
since the body of our sterlingly brave and loyal gen- 
eral ''was laid to rest." It lies beneath the monu- 
mental granite covering which we, on this day, unveil 
and dedicate to the glory of God, and to the honored 
memory of our dear old GeneraPs imperishable good- 
ness, unswerving loyalty, irreproachable citizenship 
and heartfelt Christianity. 

Time will not permit me to dwell in detail, on the 
many incidents which might be offered in proof of 
these assertions. 1 will attempt only a brief mention. 

1st — That he avas a good man, is proved by the 
fact that he won the heart's love of his neighbors. So 
much so that when difficulty and tronble assailed him, 
and his estate was put up by law to be sold, not one 
man could be found to make an offer for it. So good 
was he to others that, although his estate was offered 
for sale three different times, it could not be sold, as 
no one w^ould be a party to dispossess him of his prop- 
erty. Again his goodness is show^n by his gratefully 



86 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

a"ffiectionate nature as a Imsbaiid, for here, at his side, 
are the grave-stones of his wives, erected at his own 
instance, and bearing ejntaphs full of the deepest sen- 
timent of esteem and affection. Again, a marked esti- 
mation of his goodness is shown, in tliat his grandson, 
who was not a member of this parish, year after year, 
made an offering in its aid, for love of liis /^oo*^ grand- 
father. 

2nd — That he was of faithful loyalty. This 
is proved by the fact that he enrolled himself, loyally, 
and fought in tlie War of the Revolution under Gen- 
eral George Washington, and that he commanded the 
troops which fought and won the Battle of Caulk' s 
Field in this county of Kent, Maryland. 

3rd — That his citizenship was irreproacha- 
ble. This is proved by the fact that his fellow-citi- 
zens held him worthy of positions of honor and trusi: 
that he held the office of High Sheriff of Kentcounly, 
Md., for three years ; and that he was elected to l)e the 
people's representative in Congress : — also, in that for 
seven years he held a U. S. Senatorship for Mai-ylaud. 

4tli — His heartfelt Christianity. This is 
shown l)v the fact that he served as a Vestrvman in 
this i^aiish of I. U., and gave pi-actical assistance in 
its spiritual welfai'e. x\lso, in that hn doubtless iv- 
ceived in humble worship at the old church of fhis. liis 
parish, the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supiter. 
His choicest society was assni'edlv among flie follow- 
ers of our Lord and Saviour .lesus Christ. 

We, therefore, in truth, must lionoi', in terms of 
highest praise, the memory of this good and loyal 
nuni, — this true citizen and Christian, — our mncli 
esteemed and devoutly venera (^ed General Philip Reed. 



GENERAL I'HILIP REED. 87 

The ^^<!'//wljicli he did, throiigli the natural iiihriii- 
ity of his humanity is clean for gotten. The good, which 
he did is as green in our memory now as when it was 
first in groirth. May God give us grace to follow so 
admirable an example. 

I have now to thank, with hearty gratitude, all 
those whose liberality has enabled us to set this 
memorial stone to the glory of God, and in loving 
meniorv of General Philip Eeed. 

Let us pray that as we now honor our loyal and 
Christian countryman, so "we (and he) and all who 
have departed in the true faith of God's Holy name, 
may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both 
in body and soul, in God's eternal and everlasting 
gloiy, through Jesus Clirist our Lord. Amen." 



88 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

T<t the light of General Reed in I. U. Cemetery, 
is tile grave oL" one of his wives, the headstone of 
which bears the following inscription : 



Saored to the niemory of Hasanah 
Reed, daughter of George and Beatrice 
Medford, and wife of Philip Reed, who 
departed this life on Wednesday, lOtli 
of March, 1802, aged 29 years, 6 months 
and 5 days, leaving two sons, Pliilip and 
George. 

She was an affectionate wife, a ten- 
der mother, a sincere friend and a good 
neighhour. She sustained a long and 
painful illness with Christian patience 
and resignation. A fall from his car- 
riage by wdiich his leg was fractured de- 
prived her affectionate husband of the 
power of paying her that unremitting 
attention to which her merits and vir- 
tues fully entitled her. 

This monumental stone is dedicated 
to her respected memory by him. 

"The end of the upright is peace." 



GENERAL PHILIP REEU. 



89 



Beside this grave is a mound marked by a well- 
preserved marble slab bearing the L'ollowing inscrip- 
tion : 



Sacred to the memory of George 
Medford Beed, son of Philip and Ho- 
sanali Reed, who departed this life 9th 
July, 1802, aged 5 months and 16 days. 



Adjoining this grave is another stone marked 



Sacred to the memoi-y of Mary Reed, 
daughter of Marmaduke and Hanah 
Med'ford, and wife of Pbilip Reed. She 
departed this life January 2nd, 1820, in 
the 38th year of her age, leaving two 
young children, George and Elizabeth. 
She was an affectionate wife, a most ten- 
der mother, a most sincere friend, a good 
neighbor and a kind mistress. SucIl 
indeed, was the purity of her life and 
conversation that it is believed that she 
left no enemy behind. This monumen- 
tal stone is dedicated to lier respected 
memorv bv hei- husband. 



90 GKNKKAL PHILIP KEEI). 



APPENDIX. 



Ill an old newspaper ("ailed ''The General Adver- 
tiser," publisiied at Easton, Talbol coiinry, Md., under 
date of October 4, 1814, appears the following (the 
names and x^nnctnation are given exactly as printed): 

''The list of the officers and men avIio were in the 
action at 'Canlk's Field' on the night of tlie:](»t]i Au- 
gust last, nnder Col. Reed : 

"Of Captain Chambers' Company — Ezekiel F. 
Chambers, captain. Thomas Eunick, Lieut. Wm. 
Skirven, ensign. Joseph Wickes. 4th. John Magnor. 
David Chambers. Thos. I. Kennard. Philip Crane. 
Jesse Vickers. Wm. C. Lassell. James A^ickers. James 
Mansfield. George Watts. Jas. Coleman. Zabedie 
Harbert. John Kemp(drummer). Aarou Alford. Samuel 
Deal. James Haley. James Gooding. Lemuel Comegys. 
Thomas Wickes. David Falls. John Usselton. Sam'l 
Runiney. Robert Constable. Tlieox)h Ruslle. James 
Robinson. James D. Miller. Andrew Toulson. Wm. 
Notts. Thomas Dugan. Benjamin Benton. Thos. Bord- 
ley. Isaiah Coleman. Jas. Ilickinbottom. Benj. Lee 
Chambers. Edward Coleby. Alexander Dunk. Wm. S. 
Lassell. John Jones. Sanrl Griffith. Samuel Floyd. 
Richard Kennard. Wm. Elliott. Geo. Holtzman. 

"Of Capt. Hand's Company — Henry Tilghman, 
Lieut. Richard S. Thomas, ensign. James Wilcox. 
Nath. Tonson. Jajnes F. Browni. Henry Copper. Rol)ert 



GENKKAL I'HfLli' KEED. SH 

McCTiiiie. NVilson Sravely. James Middletoii. Lemuel 
Wilmer. Wm. Maitiii. lleni\v Kobertsoii. Joseph Ke- 
<liie. Artliur Parsley. Kobert Barnes. Joseph Gil)l^s. 
Sam'l Elbeit. AVm. Haone. Jeremiah Nicols. John B. 
Eccleston. Wm. llyland. Thos. J. James. Ricliard 
Seymour. Thos. Tickers. James Ringgold, Jr. John 
Edwards. John B. Wilmer. Thomas Taylor. Henry 
Robertson. 

"Capt. AYickes' Rifle Corps— Simon Wickes, 
Captain. Joseph Brown, 1st Lient. John Beok, 2nd 
Lieut. Eliplian Donlin. Samuel Coleman. Henry Crie. 
Richard Smith. Richaid Kennard. James Yeates. Ho- 
ratio Stokes. John Airy. John Hyland. John Beck. 
John Jones. James Smith. Sanfl C. Wickes. Pere. 
grine Beck. Richard Freiks. Bazilla Sparks. Thomas 
Hartley. Levin Rolinson. Wm. Lamb. Elisha Swift. 
Robert Fellingham. James Tharp. John Pearce. 

"Of Capt. Griffith's Company— Samuel Griffith, 
Captain. Joseph Thomas. David Jones. Wm. Kendall. 
Samuel Baker. Barney DeConrse. John Crouch. 
Hyram Brown. Henry Dunk. Jonathan Harris. George 
G. Simmonds. James Crouch. 

'• Of Captain Hynsoms Company— Thos. B. Hyn- 
son, Captain. Ricliard Grant, ensign. Robert Love. 
Peregrin Whaland. James Shaw. Wm. Hague. John 

Waram. 

"Of Capt. Page's Company— Samuel AYickes, 
Lieut. Merritt ]\liller, ensign. Thomas Crouch. Abra- 
ham Waram. Wm. Wickes, Jr. James Downey. Thos. 
Covington. John Yearley, Jr. William Frisby. John 
Glanville. Thos. Benton. Francis Benton. Bery Ben- 
ton. James Legg. Nathan Gleaves. Jesse Clark. Benj. 
Hvnson. John Dunn. James Eagle. Robert Collin. 



92 GENERAL PHIEIP REED. 

Gabriel Alloway. Stephen Bryan. George Ashley. John 
Hnmphries. James Hudson. Ezeklel Coleman. Jesse 
Covington. Wm. Simmons. AVm. Ivry. Thos. Spencer. 
Nicholas Dudley. Elishia Beck. Wm. Miller. 

"Artillery Company — Aqnila M. Usselton, Cap- 
tain. John Reed. Lieut. Morgan Bron. Lieuf. 

Brown (?) — Edw. Nicholson. Henry H. Stewart. James 
Usselton. Philip Rasin, Jr. Edward Cannon. James 
Hatcherson. John Dugan. Joseph Gidley. Sirus Rasin. 
Wm. A¥eaver. Ezekiel Foreman. Wm. Apsley, Jr. 
Matthew Wickes. Philip Carroll. Chas. Letherl)ury. 
Dulany Apsley. William T. Usselton.'' 

Special mention was made of the following offi- 
cers and others for their bravery and services in action: 

" Major Wickes, Captain Chambers. 

" Captain Wickes, Lieut. Beck, of Rille Corps. 

"Lieut. Eunick, Ensign Skirven, of Capt. Cham- 
bers' Company. 

"Capt. Hynson. and Ensign Grant. 

"Capt. Usselton (of Brigade Artillery), and his 
Lieuts., Reed and Brown. 

" Lieut. Tilghman, who commanded the guns of 
the Volunteer Artillery in the absence of Capt. Hands 
(who is in ill-health and from home) and his Ensign 

Thomas. 

"Capt. Wilson, of the Cavalry, who was with 

Col. Reed. 

"Adjutant Hynson (who displayed much zeal and 

firmness throughout). 

"Br. Blake, Dr. Gordon and Isaac Spencer, Esq., 
(accidentally in camp), assisted in reconnoitering the 
enemy on his advance." 

The foregoing list is doubtless the same which 



GENERAL PHIIJP REED. 93 

Lieut. Col. Reed says, in his letter or official report 
of the action, "as an act of justice I enclose yon a list 
of the names of evei y officei- and soldier eng-a.^ed in 
the aifnii." 



ON THE DEATH OF SIR PETER PARKER, BART.^ 



HV LOkU MVKON. 

There is a tear for all that die, 

A mourner o'er the humblest grave ; 

Rut nations swell the funeral cry, 

And Triumph weeps above the brave. 

F"or them is Sorrow's purest sis^h 
O'er Ocean's heaving bosom sent : 

In vain their bones unburied lie, 

All earth becomes their monument. 

A l(.ml) is heirs on every page, 

An epitaph on every tongue : 
The present hours, the future age, 

For them bewail, to them belong 

For them the voice of festal mirth 

Grows Hush'd, their Jiame the only sound ; 

While deep Remembrance pours to Worth 
The goblet's tributary round. 

A theme to crowds who know them not, 

Lamented by admiring foes. 
Who would not share their glorious lot ? 

Who would not die the death they chose? 

And, gallam Parker ! thus enshrined 
Thy life, thy fall, thy fame shall be ; 

And early valour, glowing, lind 
A model in thy memory. 



94 GENERAL PHILIP REED. 

But there are breasts that bleed with thee 

In woe, that glory cannot quell ; 
And shuddering hear of victory, 

Where one so dear, so dar '^less, fell. 

VVliere shall they turn to mourn thee less? 

When cease to hear thy cherish'd name? 
Time cannot teach forgetfulness, 

While Grief's full heart is fed by Fame. 

Alas ! for them, though not for thee. 
They cannot choose but weep the more; 

Deep for the dead the grief most be. 
Who ne'er gave cause to mourn before. 

"'The standard volumes of Lord Byron's poems 
give the following inaccurate footnote to Byron's 
tribute to the gallant Parker, who fell on Caulk' s 
Field ; [This gallant officer fell in August, 1814, in 
his twenty-ninth j^ear, wiiilst commanding, on shore, 
a party from his ship, in the attack on the American 
camp near Baltimore. He was Byron's lirst cousin ; 
but they had never met since boyhood.] 



LB .11. '06 



.'••i v! 



